


In the Dark

by mydragulesebastian



Category: Bucky Barnes - Fandom, Marvel, Sebastian Stan - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Humor, MCU AU, Marvel Universe, Movie inspired, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2020-02-29 04:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 33,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18771037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mydragulesebastian/pseuds/mydragulesebastian
Summary: Sofia Gonzalez is Hollywood's hottest movie star. After rising to fame overnight, an influx of death threats and stalkers started to arise with every second that passed. Her first bodyguard did his job well, but when he's badly injured from trying to save Sofia from a life or death situation she's left without a bodyguard. Her manager finds Bucky Barnes, who's younger and agile but also holds an impressive resume of clients. Sofia and Bucky begin to develop a close relationship as soon as he's hired but he's constantly reminded that this is a professional relationship and nothing more. Where will Sofia and Bucky draw the line between them?*loosely inspired by The Bodyguard (1992)





	1. Goodbye, Coulson

The sun began to rise signaling a brand new day, but Sofia sighed heavily as she watched the light come in through the blinds while playing with her now chipped nude nail polish. It had been a long night and it seemed as though it would be a very long day as well.

She was still wearing her custom-made black embellished Elie Saab gown and her hair was still in its perfect updo. But her makeup had begun to wear off, specifically her eye makeup, which she had cried off in the last couple of hours.

Phil Coulson, Sofia's one and true bodyguard had been attacked outside the Golden Globes at the Beverly Hills Hilton for trying to protect her. Sofia only seemed to remember hearing a loud shot and the rest became a blurry mess. There was just a lot of screaming, blood, and flashing lights.

The next thing Sofia knew, she was being pushed into the black SUV that was waiting for her and the car quickly sped off to the nearest hospital where she assumed that Phil would be taken to.

Sofia's eyes were wide with shock and her mouth slightly ajar. Her manager, Peggy Carter, talked on the phone loudly while her publicist, Natasha Romanoff, quickly typed away on her phone, probably writing a statement to release in less than 5 minutes. The car came to a sudden halt and Sofia wasn't even surprised to see the paparazzi already lined up outside.

This was her life now.

She had shot up after playing lead with Peter Quill in a romantic comedy and the ride hasn't stopped ever since. She had a successful television show as well as many other movies and a recent book release. Sofia didn't take it for granted, though. She made sure to count all her blessings every day and had a great relationship with her fan base. After all, they were the reason she was where she was.

But with all the good things in life come bad things. Sofia remembered the first time she realized she had realized someone was following her. At first, she thought it was all a coincidence that she saw him everywhere. Then, she started getting letters and flowers sent to her personal address. And one day, after an outing with friends she spotted him sitting outside her gate. That was when Sofia decided she needed a bodyguard and a restraining order.

But it only started getting worse from there on out. The hate mail started coming in and even more weird people started to come out of the woodwork. Sofia wished that someone would have told her this was going to happen. Maybe she would've changed her mind about becoming an actress.

"Sofia?" A crackly voice called out.

She looked up from her hands and gasped slightly. Phil was awake and the look on his face made her assume he was probably in pain. He had been shot through the back, missing his heart by an inch or two—she didn't exactly remember what the doctor had said. She was just happy to hear that he was going to make it through.

"Coulson!" Sofia jumped up from the uncomfortable chair, picking her gown up slightly off the floor and walking over to the bed. She sat down next to him, reaching out to grab his hand that was laying on his stomach. Tears filled her eyes and her bottom lip began to quiver. "I thought I lost you."

"You could never lose me," Phil chuckled but then winced in pain. "Jesus, he sure did have a good aim."

Sofia shook her head. "Don't say that."

"Sofia, we need to talk about all of this." He frowned. "I-I know I've been with you for a really long time now and nothing like this has ever happened and I'm so grateful. But I'm getting old, sweetheart. We cut it close last night."

Her eyes began to swell with tears again. This was what she was afraid of the most. She didn't want Phil to leave her. She had known him since she was 20 years old—about 7 years now. He was like a second dad to her.

"I don't know if I can go out there and protect you the same way I did before. The mind changes once you're put in a position like this."

"I understand," Sofia's voice cracked.

"You know I'll always be here for you, Sof. I'm just a phone call away."

"But it won't be the same," she took in a breath before blinking. "Who's gonna cheer me up when I'm down? Or put me in my place the way you did?"

"Someone will find a way," he assured her.

Phil was released from the hospital a week later, Sofia never leaving his side. They talked about life; Phil shared stories of his time in the military with Sofia while she shared stories of her childhood.  They watched TV together, specifically the cooking channel, and she even managed to sneak in some In 'N Out for him to eat a couple of days after the incident.

She pushed him out to his car (the back way, of course) in the wheelchair the hospital let him borrow for the time being as his family waited for him. Phil's wife hugged her as soon as she saw her walk out with him, just as she did when she first got to the hospital. Sofia waved to his teen kids who still acted starstruck around her even after knowing each other for so long.

"It's not a goodbye, Sofia. Just a see you later, okay?"

"I know," she sighed sadly. "I'm gonna miss you, Coulson."

"I'm going to miss you, too, kiddo."

Phil's wife helped him out of the chair and walked him over to the passengers' side of the car, slowly helping inside and making sure he was comfortable before shutting the door.

"Sofia," she called out to the brunette who began to walk away. "Thank you."

Sofia smiled, "No, thank you."

With one last wave at the family of four, she was off to her own car waiting for her in the parking garage and on her way home.

It was time for a new bodyguard.

 


	2. Hello, Barnes

"This guy is actually quite the perfect fit," Peggy mumbled lowly before bringing up the green straw to her lips and taking a long sip of her black coffee.

Sofia groaned; She didn't remember picking out a bodyguard ever being this troublesome. Maybe it had been but Coulson has been with her for so long that she forgot how tiring it was to find the perfect fit. Sofia hoped that whoever was going to be her new bodyguard would fall into her lap.

Leaning over to grab her phone off the coffee table in front of her for what seemed like the 100th time in 5 minutes, she scrolled through her Twitter feed as Peggy talked some more. It's not that she wasn't interested in finding someone to protect her; she was just starting to grow weary of the process.

"And he's not that bad looking either," Peggy commented as she opened up the picture that was attached to the resume.

He was young, maybe a couple of years older than Sofia herself. He had dark brown hair, styled into a nice coif and striking icy, blue eyes with a jawline that could cut glass. He held a serious face in his photo and Peggy noticed that he had a clear earpiece in his ear and a small lapel pin that she had never seen before.

"We have to interview this guy!" Peggy glanced at Sofia, her dark brown eyes dancing in wonder.

Sofia looked up from her phone, eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you so eager?"

"Because look—" Peggy faced the iPad towards Sofia making her gasp lightly.

"Where did you find him?" Sofia questioned, setting down her phone and looking over Peggy's shoulder to see what more information she could get about the good-looking man.

"Phil actually recommended me this agency—'Rogers' Security Service.' It's a family business thing of some sort. But anyway, this guy was President Sam Wilson's main bodyguard!"

Sofia scoffed. "Shut up! No way. So he's the real deal, huh?"

Peggy chuckled, "As real it could possibly get. When should we schedule an interview with him?"

"Peggy, did you even look at the other applicants?" She frowned trying not to laugh at her manager's eagerness to meet the handsome man.

She shrugged, "They're completely overshadowed by this beautiful man, Sof."

"What's his name?"

"James Barnes."

"James," Sofia whispered. "Hmm... try and see if he can come out here by the end of the week." She stood up from her couch and stretched, joints cracking loudly.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

—

Across the country and over a body of large water, James Barnes was escorting royalty. The Royal Family was hosting an event and he was officiated as Wanda Maximoff's, Princess of Sokovia, bodyguard. It was only temporary, though. She had her official bodyguard but he was currently out due to personal matters.

"How do I look?" Wanda asked, her accent heavy.

He gave the young girl a once over and nodded. "You look fine, Princess."

"Bucky, are you being honest with me?"

He winced at the sound of his nickname. He hadn't heard it in years. He didn't think it was professional enough so he didn't go by it anymore. "As honest as I can be." He mustered a smile.

She hummed, quickly fixing her dress and putting on her smile. "I am ready then."

"As you wish." Bucky bowed his head quickly before opening the large wooden door to lead her out to the group of people awaiting her arrival. 

Everyone either bowed or curtsied as she walked down the long, carpeted aisle while Bucky walked a couple of feet behind her, his eyes scanning the room warily. And whenever Wanda stopped to greet other royalty, he stood close behind.

This was his job. He protected people for a living and he was good at it. Bucky enjoyed doing it too. He was too selfless to do anything else in the world. He couldn't see himself doing anything else either.   
  
The event ended hours later and Bucky escorted Princess Wanda out of the large, elegant hall to the car waiting for her. He opened the door for her and once she was safely inside, he got in the passenger seat. Bucky ordered the driver to head on out and once they were away from the flashing lights and off to one of the Maximoff's many properties, Wanda sighed.  
  
"Is everything okay, Princess?"  
  
"Everything is perfect!" She smiled and slightly squealed.   
  
In the time that Bucky and Wanda had known each other, Bucky kind of became her confidant. Not that he had much of an option; he was with her almost 24/7. He didn't mind it. He figured it was hard for her to open up to anyone else she knew because they'd either sell her out or judge her. She was royalty. She wasn't supposed to have time for young adult problems.  
  
Wanda soon rambled on about Victor, the young Prince she was madly in love with. They had met a couple of times before and each time they looked at each other, sparks would fly (Wanda's words, not Bucky's).   
  
"I think I will marry him one day," she sighed dreamily as the car pulled up to the large manor.  
  
"Yeah?" Bucky nodded to the guard who let them drive past the gates.  
  
"Mhmm!"   
  
Bucky felt his phone vibrate in his suit pocket while Wanda talked some more about the love of her life. He wished they would pull up to the front door already so he could take a look at his phone. As much as he liked Wanda, sometimes it was a little bit too much for him.  
  
"Goodnight, Bucky. Thank you for always looking out for me."  
  
"It's my job, Princess."  
  
They both nodded and went their separate ways. Bucky unbuttoned his suit jacket and took out his phone, unlocking it and opening up the e-mail that appeared on his screen. It was from Steve. The subject line read "Job Offering."  
  
Bucky read the e-mail to himself under his breath. He would be Sofia Gonzalez's bodyguard. He knew the name sounded familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. The e-mail held all the information and job qualifications, which he had overachieved years ago.  
  
He sighed as his thumb hit reply, typing away his response. The interview was at the end of the week. He knew the Maximoff's would let him go. It wasn't like they didn't have any other guards. Bucky hit "send" and let out a breath at the same time it whooshed away from his screen.  
  
A small ring on Peggy's iPad stopped her and Sofia's conversation on the latest episode of The Bachelor. Peggy opened up the unread email and gasped, a smile breaking onto her face.  
  
"What?" Sofia furrowed her brows.   
  
"He said yes!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"James!"  
  
"Oh—" Sofia's eyes widened. "—Really?"  
  
"Yes, he did. He'll be here Friday morning." Peggy quickly typed on the iPad before setting it back down next to her.  
  
"Perfect!" Sofia smiled. "I can't wait to meet him!"


	3. The Interview

Bucky zipped up his last suitcase and placed it on the white marble floor. After a long and serious talk with the King and Queen of Sokovia, they agreed to let him go. They had other people who could look after Wanda in the meantime.

There was a soft knock on his door while he gave the room a quick once over scaring him slightly. He turned to look at the entrance and Wanda smiled at him sadly. "Rumor has it you are going back to America."

Bucky took in a deep breath and grinned. "Yeah. I don't have much of a choice. Steve likes to say yes before he talks to me about it first."

"It will be good for you. It is boring around here," she tilted her head. "Sofia Gonzalez, right?" Bucky raised a brow and Wanda chuckled. "Word travels fast. Her life is way more exciting than mine."

"Nothing is as exciting as the life of a princess."

"Are you sure? You did seem quite bored the majority of the time."

Bucky shook his head.

She sighed. "I will miss you, Bucky."

"I'm going to miss you, too, Princess."

A few days later, Sofia was out with Peggy on a breakfast date at a little cafe in the city of Burbank going over details that needed to be overseen before Bucky arrived in a couple of hours. Sofia sat with her cap low and large aviators perched on her nose sipping on a glass of orange juice while Peggy drank hot tea, shielding the sun away from her eyes with her hand.

"Put on my damn sunglasses!" Sofia reached to take her glasses off her face.

"No," Peggy shook her head. "It's fine."

"Your arm must hurt," Sofia whined. "Please, will you just put them on?" She held them out.

"Fine," Peggy huffed, taking them and putting them on her face. "You're such a bugger."

Sofia smiled at her friend and silently cheered when she finally lowered her hand down. She might have to buy her a pair like hers; they looked good on her.

"Are you excited to meet him?" Peggy asked as she flipped through some paperwork.

"I guess—" Sofia shrugged nonchalantly. "—I've met other bodyguards before. This isn't special."

"Right," Peggy drawled out. "This isn't special at all."

Bucky had landed in Los Angeles at around 4 AM on Friday, getting a cab to the hotel Steve had booked for him and sleeping for a couple of hours before getting ready for the interview.

All he knew about the interview was that Peggy and Sofia would be there and that it would be taking place at a building in a studio lot in Burbank. Bucky felt nervous. didn't matter how many times he had done it before, it always made him anxious for what could possibly come. Especially if the client was going to be right there in front of him.

He drank the last of his coffee and tossed the paper cup in the nearest trash can before smoothing out his dress shirt and pants and heading out to hop into the car service.

Once outside the studios, he spotted a brunette with red lipstick waiting outside the gates. He imagined that it was Peggy since she did say she was going to wait for him. He got out of the car after thanking the driver and took in a shaky breath as he walked up to her. She was kind of intimidating even from afar.

"James?" She smiled.

Oh, she's got an English accent, Bucky thought to himself. He smiled at her and stuck out his hand to shake her's when he was a couple of feet away from her. "Hi, you must be Peggy Carter."

He wasn't sure if it was the heat, but he caught the tiniest hint of red splash upon her cheeks. "Yes, hi!" She smiled. "Nice to meet you. Follow me."

Bucky followed her through the gates of the studio, going through a metal detector and then being checked in by the security personnel. He looked around in awe as they hopped onto a small golf cart and made their way through the lot, spotting props that belonged to movies and TV shows lingering outside the studios or being taken from one stage to another.

They soon came to a stop in front of plexiglass building that was located in the far back part of the lot. Peggy hopped off the cart, smoothing out her navy blue skirt and nodding towards Bucky to follow her. They walked into the small, three-story building instantly greeted by the young woman at the front desk as soon as they walked in through the doors.

Bucky looked at every poster that was hung up on the wall; a lot of the movies he had seen when he was a child. Some were new but he didn't know what they were about or who the stars even were since he didn't have much free time anymore. His life revolved around work for years now.

Peggy opened a conference room door and Bucky walked in with her the sound of a giggle quickly filling the room. It was light and airy. It was new to his ears. He liked it.

"Sofia, I'm back."

"Huh?" She spun around in the swivel chair and smiled. A sudden flutter in her stomach made her feel like a school-girl all over again. James was even better looking in person.

Sofia stood up from her chair, slipping her phone into the back pocket of her denim jeans and walked over to Bucky. She stuck her hand out and he took it in his, both of them shocking each other. They pulled away quickly, awkwardly laughing and apologizing as Peggy watched with a joking, but a disgusted look on her face.

"Have a seat!" Sofia gestured to the empty chairs.

Bucky grinned and softly mumbled "thanks" before pulling out a chair across from Peggy and sitting down. Sofia walked around the table to sit next to her manager and clasped her hands upon the table.

"So, James..." Peggy started. "Steve told me you were working for the Princess of Sokovia."

Bucky nodded, "Yes. I was."

"How was that like?" Sofia's eyes lit up. Something about royalty had always intrigued her.

Bucky locked eyes with her, chuckling slightly. "It was... uneventful."

"What?" Sofia cried. "You're telling me it's not like the movies?"

He laughed again, "Absolutely not."

Peggy quickly cut their conversation short, asking Bucky more questions. Especially about his work with President Wilson. He had served as his bodyguard for both terms and she wondered how close they had gotten. Peggy always wanted the best for Sofia, not only as her manager but as her friend.

"I mean... we got pretty close—" Bucky shrugged. "I don't know if that was inevitable or not when you spend about 24 hours out of 7 days together."

Peggy pretended to write down his response, but just scribbled nonsense on the corner of the page. It wasn't like there was a right or wrong answer. Phil and Sofia were close. Of course, it was more of a father-daughter bond that they had but she was sure Bucky would keep it professional.

"So... are there aliens?" Sofia leaned over the table slightly to meet Bucky's eyes.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you that even if I knew."

Her shoulders fell and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. But you're not getting any film secrets out of me."

Bucky smiled, instantly growing a liking for Sofia. He was a bit afraid of her when he first found out who he was going to be looking after. She was a big Hollywood starlet. If that wasn't scary in the first place, he wasn't sure what would've been. Then, he found out about all her issues with stalkers and break-ins, not to mention close calls with death due to the former. But she was sweet and humble from what he could tell. She seemed to be everything most Hollywood actors aren't. There was no faking it.

"One last question," Peggy cleared her throat. "Why should we hire you?"

Bucky sat up straight, taking in a deep breath. "You should hire me because I will do anything I need to do to make sure that my client is always safe and protected even if it means that I'm not. She will always come first."

 


	4. Moving In

"He's perfect!"

Sofia laughed. Peggy was right; Bucky was perfect. "Are we interviewing anyone else?"

"No," Peggy replied. "I mean, it would be fair to do so, but why should we waste our time when we've already found the one?" Peggy stated matter-of-factly.

Sofia hummed as she grabbed her purse, taking her phone out and seeing a missed phone call from her mother.

"Don't forget that you have that red carpet on Thursday," Peggy reminded her as she made her way out of the conference room. "Let me know when you get home, please!"

"Alright," Sofia smiled. "Bye!"

Once Peggy was out of the room, Sofia called back her mom and waited for three rings before the line was picked up. The busy background noise brought a small smile to her lips. Ever since her mother retired she had been spending most of her time in the kitchen. There was always an abundance of food at home due to the long hours making Sofia wish she could visit more often to have a home-cooked meal.

"Mami!"

"Hola," her mom answered cheerfully. "How's mi niña? Did you find a new-a new... como se dice—"

"Bodyguard?" Sofia chuckled, leaning her elbows against the table in front of her. It was often that she knew what it was like to know the word in one language and not the other. "We just finished interviewing him a couple of minutes ago."

"Y qué piensas de el? Is he like Phil?"

"No one compares to Phil, ma." Sofia frowned. "But this guy... he's perfect! Almost a little bit too perfect."

Her mother hummed at the end of the line. "Viejo o joven?"

"Joven," Sofia bit down on her lip. She knew what was coming.

"Maybe your future boyfriend, no?"

"Ama!" Sofia cried, covering her face with her free hand. "No! That's my  _bodyguard_. We're supposed to have a strictly professional relationship."

"Ah, pero you and Coulson could be best friends? I didn't hear anything about professionalism back then. Was it because he was old?"

"Ma, he's married with a family. I'm not a home-wrecker. Besides, Phil was more like a dad to me. He had been there for me since I was still a young kid,"

"Y como se llama?"

"James."

"James," her mother repeated much like when Sofia found out his name. "Espero conocerlo pronto."

"Maybe," Sofia said. "If not, you'll see him in paparazzi pictures."

"Que paparazzi pictures ni que nada! You know, your birthday is coming up soon and we would love to have you come home. A lo mejor te puedes traer a James."

"I don't know," Sofia mumbled. "I might be busy." It wasn't like Sofia couldn't make time in her schedule to go and visit. Her family didn't live too far away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"You're always busy." Her mom replied sadly. Life was way too short and she never saw Sofia anymore, other than pictures and interviews. It was like Sofia wasn't even real to her.

"I'll call you and let you know if it clears up, okay? I gotta go." Sofia sighed. "I love you, ma. I do. I'll see you soon."

"I love you, too. Cuídate mucho."

Back at the hotel, Bucky kicked off his dress shoes at the edge of the bed, falling on top of the uncomfortably sturdy mattress. He sighed as his body slowly relaxed. He hadn't realized how tense he was, even if the interview went smoother than he expected.

Bucky had barely closed his eyes when his phone began to ring in his pants pocket. He pulled it out and answered it blindly, Steve's cheery voice on the other end.

"Buck! How'd it go?"

"Fine," he answered simply.

"Fine?" Steve frowned. "That's it?"

"Steve, I don't know what else there is to say about these interviews. It's the same thing every time except for different people."

"But what did you think of her?" Steve poked. "She was there, right?"

The corner of Bucky's lips turned up at the thought of her. Sofia's brown eyes that lit up every time something interesting came up quickly came to his mind. He vividly remembered the way her tan skin contrasted against the white blouse. She glowed. Her smile was his favorite though; it was bright and welcoming as well as contagious.

"Bucky?"

"Huh?" Bucky snapped. "What? What happened?"

"I asked what you thought about Sofia."

"She was nice, yeah." Bucky tried to play it cool. But Steve knew him like the back of his hand. He'd figure it out sooner than later that Bucky had the hots for his client. "Peggy is damn scary though. I have a feeling you two would get along. She'd put you in your place in a second, Rogers."

"Ha. Funny," Steve drawled out. "Well, I'll let you go. You must be tired. But I'll call you as soon as I find out the answer. I'm sure you got the job, bud."

"Yeah, yeah." Bucky rolled his eyes. "We'll see."

They both hung up a second after and Bucky was soon fast asleep dreaming of better days. He woke up sometime later (the sun had already set) with a puddle of drool staining the comforter. He grabbed his phone and checked that he had a missed call from Steve and a couple of emails. He decided to call Steve before looking at the messages, awaiting the news as the phone rang.

"Bucky, you got the job," Steve answered with a smile. "You start on Monday. I emailed you all the information you need from now on. You report to Sofia, if not Peggy before you come to me."

"Yes, boss," Bucky grumbled.

Steve yapped away for a couple of seconds not knowing Bucky threw the phone next to him on the mattress and placed his arm over his eyes. When Bucky finally heard the click and then the vibration of a new email coming in, he picked up his phone again (much to his annoyance) and read it quickly.

He was to report tomorrow at 10 AM sharp at the same studios with all of his belongings. It was very clear that he would move into Sofia's place kind of like Coulson would do.

After skimming through the email once more, he put an alarm to wake him up for the next morning and went back to sleep.

Bucky woke up at 7 AM, ordered breakfast and got ready for the day. He packed up his last suitcase and did a once-over of the room before heading out into the warm sun. He put his sunglasses on and got into the car that took him back to the studios. After paying the driver and taking his bags out of the trunk, he spotted Peggy waving at him. She was waiting for him inside the studios this time.

He was checked again by the security personnel and once he was cleared, he grabbed his suitcase and his small backpack (after fighting with Peggy about not letting her help him) and hopped on the small cart before Peggy drove off.

An all-black SUV was waiting for them outside the same building from the day before and he watched as Peggy signaled the driver to open up the trunk. She helped Bucky open it and watched him put his stuff away before closing it shut.

"You can sit in the back," she told him. "Sofia should be out from her meeting any minute."

Bucky nodded and got in the back seat, sitting behind the driver. Peggy typed away on her phone as soon as she got in while the driver stared out ahead. Bucky sighed and drummed his fingers on the leather seat nervously. A second later, the door flew open and Sofia jumped in, setting her bag in between Bucky and her while letting out a long breath.

"How'd it go?" Peggy asked, not even looking up from her phone.

"Fine—" Sofia pulled the seatbelt across her body. "Same as always." She finally looked over to her left and smiled at Bucky. "Hey! You're quiet. How are you?"

Bucky chuckled, "I'm doing great. How are you?"

"Just peachy." she winked at him making Bucky's cheeks warm up slightly.

The SUV began to move and they were soon out of the city and going up a hill to get to Sofia's large home. The outside design was contemporary; it was painted a grayish color, had a lot of windows, and some ledges that could be seen from a distance. It was big but not overwhelming.

After the car parked in the driveway, Sofia hopped out and so did Peggy. Bucky quickly fumbled with the door handle as he tried to get out as fast as the other two girls but he failed. The trunk had already been opened and Sofia waited for him at the end of the walkway with a grin on her face.

"Come on, slow-poke!" She teased.

He grabbed his things and shut the trunk, thanking the driver who had now gotten out of the car. Bucky walked up to Sofia who quickly turned on her heel and led the way to her large, steel front door. She unlocked it and Peggy stepped inside first, then Sofia and Bucky last.

The inside of her home was modern and quite monochromatic. It had a beautiful entrance hall with a huge, chrome sputnik chandelier hanging right in the center. He spotted the short staircase and assumed that Sofia's room was on the second floor. He followed her into the living room and the first thing that caught his eyes was the bright, velvet red couches she had and it seemed to be the only pop of color in the home. A large TV was mounted on the wall above the fireplace and you could see the entire city of Los Angeles through the large windows.

"So as you know," she turned to look at him. "You're going to be living with me. This house is just as much as your house as it is mine!" She paused for a second and cracked a grin. "But no parties."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Let me show you your room so you can put your stuff down."

She walked out of the living room and into one of the halls closest to the front door. Bucky took notice of each painting and picture on her cream-colored walls. They were all black and white and truly tasteful. Sofia's hand came in contact with a doorknob at the end of the hall and twisted it, opening the door to let Bucky in.

He couldn't lie; this was one of the best rooms he had ever been offered. It was kind of like a studio more than it was an actual room. It had just about everything he needed, which he didn't think he would use much anyway since Sofia was always out and about.

He walked over to the King-sized bed that was covered in pillows that were different shades of a grey and blue and white comforter. He set his backpack on top of it and looked back at Sofia who smiled.

"You like it?" She asked.

"It's great. More than I expected. Thank you."

"You're job is to protect me. The least I could do is this." She bit down on her lip. "Well, I'll leave you be. I'll be in the kitchen with Peggy if you need anything."

She sent him a small wave before disappearing down the hall and going into the kitchen, finding Peggy eating out of her favorite bag of chips.

"You don't even like Hot Cheetos!" Sofia exclaimed, quickly picking the bag out of Peggy's hands and grabbing some for herself.

"Hey! I was enjoying them, thank you very much." Peggy cried, looking for a paper towel to wipe her red-stained fingers. "How'd it go? Is he ready to run yet?"

"Not funny," Sofia deadpanned. "He seemed... grateful for the room. I don't know. He's hard to read, P."

"Just give him some time. He'll warm up to you and you'll become best friends." Peggy walked over to the fridge and took out a water bottle. "If not... well, then he's just your bodyguard as he should be."


	5. Day One

A loud commotion, seemingly coming from upstairs, woke Bucky up in a haste. Throwing his legs over the bed he rushed out of his new room and over to the main entrance where the stairs perfectly spiraled up to the second floor. He ran up the stairs, two at a time, making it to her bedroom and opening the door without a second thought.

He was suddenly met with a large room delicately lit by the sun coming in from the large windows. It was luxurious—nothing less than what he expected from Sofia. Bucky looked around quietly before hearing the ruckus again. His feet moved towards the noise and he quickly found himself in a smaller hallway inside Sofia's room. One side of the hall led to a bathroom and the other side led into what he assumed was her closet from the large mirror that was bolted to the wall.

"Oh, fuck!"

His ears perked up at the sound of the voice coming from inside the closet (that could be its little room in itself). Bucky carefully tiptoed into the closet, his eyes scanning the surroundings as he made his way further into it.

He slowly crept up to another opening in the closet, which he now believed was like some sort of Mary Poppin's bag, and found Sofia sitting on the floor groaning loudly as she threw around pairs of shoes that landed onto the carpeted floor with loud thumps.

Bucky let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding and Sofia looked up at him, her eyes widening at the sigh of a half-asleep Bucky standing inside her shoe closet.

She winced slightly, "Did I wake you up?"

Bucky ran a hand down his face with a sigh, "It's okay. I just... I don't know. I got worried."

"No one can break-in," Sofia stated matter-of-factly but then paused and furrowed her perfect brows. "Well, I probably shouldn't say  _no one_ , but you know what I mean."

Bucky cracked a grin and then scanned the closet again. Sofia chuckled from the floor and clicked her tongue. "I can't find the shoes I want to wear for tomorrow's carpet. I don't remember if I let Natasha borrow them or not. And knowing her, she's probably not even awake so I'm not wasting my time calling her to ask."

She stood up from the floor and stretched, Bucky catching a glimpse of her tan skin that peeked out from underneath her shirt. He looked away and cleared his throat feeling like he was overstaying his welcome in Sofia's closet.

"Want to come to get breakfast with me and Peggy?" Sofia asked. "I know your first official day on the job isn't until tomorrow, but uh, it doesn't hurt to get a taste of what's to come."

Bucky blinked. "Sure. Yeah. Right now?"

"Yeah. I just gotta take a shower and then get ready. I'll be done in an hour. Sound good?"

He nodded. Sofia smiled at him and he quickly made his way out of the closet, out of her room and back downstairs to his own. After closing the door behind him he let out an exasperated sigh. He could not catch feelings for Sofia. He knew exactly how it would end if it did.

An hour later, Bucky and Sofia were making their way down into the city of Los Angeles. Sofia was driving her all-black (inside and out) Mercedes-AMG GT coupe. Bucky held onto the door handle tightly as she raced through the busy streets with the radio playing lightly in the background.

Sofia chuckled in her seat as she came to a red light. Once completely stopped she looked over at Bucky and shook her head. "Just like my ma."

"What?"

"Don't think I haven't noticed your death grip on the car door or the faces you make every time I turn or hit the gas."

Bucky snorted slowly letting go of the door making Sofia crack a smile, her brown eyes focusing back on the traffic light. Once it turned green she peeled down the street, on purpose, of course, making Bucky grab onto the door once more.

Sofia parallel parked perfectly in front of the cafe. She hopped out of the car after grabbing her purse from the passenger side floor and was instantly greeted by a group of middle-aged men with large cameras. The cameras flashed and the men shouted all sorts of questions, mostly inappropriate. Bucky closed the passenger door at the same time Sofia rounded the front of her car.

"Go inside," Bucky instructed. "I'll take care of the meter."

Sofia blinked behind her Prada sunglasses, feeling stumped for a second at the gesture, but did as he said. She disappeared into the small cafe at the same time she locked up her car with the remote and found Peggy sitting in the back of the cafe looking at the menu. Sofia slid into the seat and pushed her sunglasses over her head before setting her down bag.

"You made it," Peggy hummed without looking up from the menu.

"Did I not make it here quick enough for you?" Sofia countered. "I drove pretty fast. I think I may have run a couple of lights, too."

"Where's James?"

"Paying the meter."

"A gentleman," Peggy chuckled and looked up from her menu to see Bucky walking towards them with the utmost chilled expression on his face. Peggy kicked Sofia's shin underneath the table and Sofia jumped.

"James!" Peggy smiled. "Come here. Sit next to me."

Sofia rolled her eyes before he walked around the table to sit across from her. Peggy liked to push Sofia's buttons and she was very aware that Peggy was doing so by having Bucky sit right in front of her.

"Did they leave you alone?" Sofia mumbled as her eyes scanned the specials.

"Uh," Bucky pursed his lips. "I mean, sure, yeah. I think they did. But they did ask if I was your boyfriend."

Peggy snorted and Sofia's eyes widened momentarily while skimming through the menu before looking up at him. Bucky held a smirk on his face and Sofia shook her head at him. So that's how it's going to be, Sofia thought to herself before nodding and finally deciding on what to order.

The waitress came over to the table a couple of minutes later and stuttered through the usual introduction. Weirdly enough, it always humbled Sofia when people freaked out when they would see her in person. Mostly because Sofia didn't see herself any different from the girl she was back home.

After she took everyone's orders they were left alone again. Sofia and Peggy talked about upcoming events and Bucky listened intently. He was her bodyguard after all. He needed to know what was coming up.

"Are you excited about tomorrow?" Peggy nudged his side.

Bucky chuckled. "I don't know how excited I could be."

Sofia gasped, "Hey! It's pretty exciting, okay? There are grown men trying to grab me, people yelling at me because I won't sign something for them, getting pushed and shoved by my fans—" She faced her palm up in the air. "—it's all very exciting if you were to ask me."

"You don't sign things for your fans?"

"Ugh," Sofia grumbled. "Depends. I usually know who to sign for, like our waitress for example." She looked back at the young girl talking to one of the cooks. "I know she's gonna either ask for an autograph or a picture; maybe even both! But I also know she's not going to go and sell my autograph online as others do."

"She's smart," Peggy teased and Sofia glared at her playfully. "But she's right. Sometimes they even make copies of the signature and paste them on other pictures. Have you seen how much they go for? Hundreds of dollars, James! People could probably live off of that."

"They probably do," Sofia shrugged while sipping her coffee.

"So can I get an autograph?" Bucky jokingly asked making Peggy laugh and Sofia squeeze her eyes shut and grin.

"You're funny, Barnes."

The food was soon brought out and the three of them ate, talked and laughed amongst each other. As always, Sofia paid for the breakfast even after fighting with Bucky and Peggy about splitting it three ways. Before they walked out of the cafe, Sofia was stopped by the waitress who held out a pen and a blank notebook pad with a shy smile.

Sofia gladly took it and wrote a little message for her after asking for her name. She signed it quickly and waved goodbye before stepping out into the sidewalk. No photographers were around and Sofia thanked the angels above. After giving Peggy a tight hug, Sofia and Bucky were on their way back home.

"Do you need me to stop anywhere?" She offered.

"No, I'm good." He replied. "Thank you."

Sofia glanced over at him to shoot him her award-winning smile and Bucky felt his stomach flutter. He pushed the feeling away faster than he had ever done before and relaxed into the leather seat. He just needed to breathe.

Back at Sofia's place they lounged around and got to know each other a little better. Sofia was funny but also very mature. Her opinions were well structured and she gave Bucky this feeling that she wanted to learn more and more about lots of different things. She never wanted to stop learning and growing as a person. He liked that a lot.

Bucky fished out a couple of things from his own life. Nothing compared to Sofia's own life and accomplishments (although she didn't let him bring himself down any time he tried). He told her about his best friend and boss, Steve Rogers. He told her about President Wilson and Princess Wanda. He had so many stories up his sleeve that he was sure Sofia would sit down and listen to every single one.

Before they knew it, the sun had gone down and the city lights were all turned on illuminating the sky instead of vice versa. Sofia stretched from her spot on the red couch, getting up shortly after and smiling.

"It was nice getting to know you more, James." She said.

"Likewise," Bucky nodded, getting up from his spot and stretching as well.

After a small goodnight, they made their way to their perspective rooms and jumped into bed. They both sighed at the same time without each other knowing they had done so and turned on their side, grinning to themselves before falling asleep.

The next morning, Bucky was awoken by the doorbell ringing and footsteps making their way down the stairs quickly. Loud voices echoed off the walls and Bucky groaned to himself, looking at the time on his phone. It was 7 AM and Sofia was up getting ready for her appearance at Ellen (if he remembered correctly from the conversation the morning before).

He laid in bed for a couple of minutes before grunting and getting out of bed, walking to the connected bathroom and turning on the shower. After his shower, he got ready for the day choosing a white crew-neck t-shirt, black jeans, boots, a leather jacket for his outfit. He quickly combed his short hair and grabbed his phone from the bed, sticking it into his back pocket before making his way out of the room and into the living room where Sofia was currently getting her makeup and hair done, the sun creating the perfect light for both artists to work with.

"Good morning," Sofia raised her perfectly done eyebrows. "How'd you sleep?"

"Morning," Bucky nodded. "I slept great. You?"

"Like a baby," she grinned. "There's breakfast in the kitchen. You must be hungry."

"Thanks," he smiled back at her before disappearing into the kitchen. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes laid out on the island along with little cups of varied fruit and hot coffee.

Bucky heard the door open again and Sofia laughs loudly from the living room. He grabbed a fruit cup and tossed a grape into his mouth as he leaned against the marbled counter. He wasn't sure what to do now. Did he just stay in the kitchen until she was finished? Did he go back to his room?

"Hey," someone greeted and Bucky snapped out of his thoughts. A woman with striking red hair cut into a bob walked right past him and picked out a strip of bacon from the tray. "You must be James."

Bucky nodded, her green eyes captivating him in a millisecond. "Y-Yeah. Hi."

She snorted and wiped her hand on her pants, "I'm Natasha, Sofia's publicist."

"Nice," he nodded. 

She raised a brow at him before turning around and grabbing more bacon to stuff into her mouth. She gave off such a brash feeling that it kind of threw Bucky off. Not that he minded it too much, it was just different.

"Sofia tells me you were President Wilson's bodyguard," Natasha commented. "You must know all sorts of things."

Bucky blinked, furrowing his brows together. "I don't know much."

"Must make life difficult," she replied.

"Oh, goodness is Natasha bothering you?" Peggy's high voice filled the kitchen.

"Margaret Carter," Nastaha fluttered her eyelashes at the other woman. "When do I ever bother anyone?"

Peggy shot her a deadpanned looked before walking over to Bucky and patting his shoulder. "Ready, big shot?"

"Of course he is," Natasha answered for him. "This is a walk in the park for him."

Bucky looked at Peggy and shrugged. Peggy winked at him and walked over to the coffee, pouring a bit into her traveler's mug and taking a quick sip of the caffeine.

"I know you're going to be just fine," Peggy assured him. "I just wanted to hear it from you."

"I'm ready, Peggy."

"Good."


	6. The Date

** {A MONTH LATER } **

Sofia walked into the living room and plopped down next to Bucky who was sitting comfortably on the couch watching a movie. She crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the TV for a couple of seconds before looking over at Bucky.

"Stressed already?"

Bucky snorted, replying without looking at her. "You wish."

It had been a couple of weeks since Bucky became her bodyguard and she knew it wasn't easy to handle it all, but then again this was Bucky. He had been President Wilson's bodyguard for 8 years. She was sure this was a piece of cake for him. And if it wasn't, he was very good at not letting on.

"So, anyway—" Sofia tucked her right leg underneath her left thigh. "I have a date tomorrow."

Bucky felt his heart stop and a little green, angry monster crawl up onto his shoulder. Sofia was nothing of his but yet he still couldn't help but feel jealous that someone else was going to enjoy her time.

"Oh."

Sofia frowned. She didn't know what she expected from him. She did know that Bucky wasn't going to jump for joy at the news. Then why did she feel upset?

"Coulson always fought me on the next part but uh..." Sofia trailed off nervously. "You have to come with."

Bucky looked away from the television to lock his light blue eyes with Sofia's dark brown ones. "So I'm going to chaperone..."

"Sort of? Look, I know that you don't want to do this and I understand but—"

"You're assuming I don't want to."

"Yes?" The look on her face was that a confused one. Was he not objecting?

"It's my job, Miss. Gonzalez. I don't have a choice now do I?"

Sofia shrugged. "I guess not... I don't know. Maybe I just expected you to give me a hard time as Coulson did."

Bucky let out a laugh as he turned back to look at the television screen again. He watched an action scene unfold systematically, opening his mouth to ask an unimportant yet important question.

"Who's the lucky guy?"

Sofia felt her neck and cheeks go warm. "Oh! Uh, you remember Tony from the other day," she started as she watched his eyebrows furrow. "Stark. Tony Stark. We met him at the Ellen show."

Bucky hummed and Sofia continued. "Well, his people got in contact with my people and he got my number, obviously, and now we're here; I'm prepping to go on a date with him."

Bucky pressed his lips together and nodded. Of course, Tony- _genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist_ -Stark set his eyes on Sofia. Who wouldn't? She was all kinds of perfect.

"But I mean, who knows if it'll even work out," Sofia rambled on. "' Cus Tony is on a whole other level than me, you know?"

Bucky nodded, only half-listening to what his client was going on about.

"So... yeah." She crossed her arms over her chest again and Bucky cleared his throat awkwardly.

A second later, Sofia got up from the couch and made her way up to her room, shutting the door behind her and jumping onto her bed. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and unlocked it using her thumbprint, quickly going into her messages and pressing on the pre-existing thread she had with Peggy.

Sofia stared at the new message and blushed furiously. Sure, he was handsome. It didn't help that he protected her and looked out for her like his life depended on it (and it somewhat did). But it was just a silly crush.

She flipped onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, pursing her lips as she tried to think of ways to get the man downstairs out of her head.

_Tony Stark. Tomorrow. Date. Tony Stark. Tomorrow. Date._

Truth be told, Sofia was just as nervous as anyone else that thrust themselves into the dating world. She had been lucky a few times here and there but most of the time, she always ended up broken-hearted. Sometimes Sofia thought that her standards were way too high but then again, she knew that she deserved to be treated like a queen and nonetheless.

Her phone vibrated on her stomach; it was another message from Peggy.

_Look, enjoy your time with Tony. Forget about James. For all we know, he could have someone back home._

Sofia pouted. Peggy had a point. What if Bucky had someone back home? Not that it wouldn't have been important to mention it during the meeting but she understood that some things are just meant to be private.

The next morning, Sofia woke up to the smell of eggs, bacon and if her sense of smell was right, burnt toast. After slipping into her burgundy silk robe, she descended the stairs and padded to the kitchen where she found Bucky standing near the stove in his pajamas as well, whistling a song she wasn't familiar with.

Her eyes scanned the area and found a plate of eggs, another plate stacked with bacon and semi-burnt toast. When Bucky turned around he jumped slightly causing Sofia to giggle.

"Jesus Christ, you're like a cat." He breathed out.

"Sorry," Sofia smiled at him.

He nodded towards the plates. "I made food for you too if you want."

"Thanks, James."

"Bucky."

Sofia cocked her head, eyebrows furrowing.  _Who the hell is Bucky?_

"Bucky. My nickname; it comes from my middle name Buchanan."

"Oh," Sofia peeped. "Bucky."

The name rolled off her tongue and made him shiver. She smiled at him again before coming around him and grabbing a piece of bacon off the white ceramic plate, tossing it in her mouth and humming in delight.

"Good?"

"It's perfect. You should make my bacon every day." She teased.

They both ate on the island after Sofia perfectly toasted 4 slices of whole wheat bread. They talked about small things, but it was mostly Sofia going on about her busy schedule and upcoming events. Bucky didn't mind though, he enjoyed listening to her. He was always more of the observant type anyway.

After breakfast, Sofia helped Bucky clean up the kitchen before going back upstairs and taking a shower and performing her daily skin routine. Bucky, on the other hand, took a step out back and breathed in deeply. Life seemed too good to be true even if his feelings had him tearing himself apart at times.

His phone rang in his hand and he answered it without looking at the screen. Steve was on the other line. Bucky grinned at the sound of his best friend's voice, happy that he was hearing from his friend.

"How's my best friend doing?"

"Good," Bucky replied.

"Yeah? You don't sound 'good.'"

Bucky ran a hand through his hair. He could come out and say it; he could tell Steve that he had a small crush on Sofia. But he knew he would never hear the end of it. Besides, he wasn't even sure if he had a crush on her. What if it was just a longing for someone? That wasn't important enough to even mention to anyone.

"I just woke up," Bucky retorted.

Steve hummed, "Of course. You already got that celebrity vibe to you."

"Shut up." Bucky rolled his eyes as Steve chuckled on the other end.

Steve began to talk his head off, Bucky quickly picking up on the fact that he was in a great mood. Something must have happened. And Bucky wasn't wrong. Soon enough, Steve was talking about how the firm was expanding and how they were going to hire more people soon.

After a couple of more minutes of Steve rambling on and Bucky adding necessary "cool's" and "nice's" Steve let Bucky go to sort through potential employees. Bucky looked back out at the city of Los Angeles one last time before walking back inside the home and heading to his room to get ready for the day.

As the hour of the date neared, people began to pour into Sofia's home again. Her makeup artist and hairstylist were one of the firsts and then came in Peggy with Natasha who held a tray of Starbucks coffee.

"What's up. Barnes?" Natasha nodded at the man.

"Not much." He nodded back.

"You're so boring."

By this point, Bucky had gotten accustomed to all of Natasha's teasing. That's just who she was.

"I'm sorry," he retaliated. "Last time I checked, you just type away at your phone all day to clear up Sofia's name in the press."

Every so often, he liked to bite back and Natasha found it endearing of him. She liked him and thought he was a good asset to the group. She hoped he wouldn't leave anytime soon.

"Touché, Barnes."

The two women disappeared up the stairwell and soon enough he could hear whooping and yelling from everyone in Sofia's room. He occupied his free time by watching television on her 100" screen. Bucky couldn't believe it when Sofia had told him; he even Googled it to make sure they made television screens that big.

Before he knew it, her makeup artist and hairstylist descended the stairs with Peggy and Natasha trailing along behind them. They all hugged goodbye and waved at Bucky before leaving the three of them alone.

"She's still not ready yet?" Bucky asked incredulously.

"She's ready," Peggy replied. "But she's kind of having a freakout."

"Why?"

He followed Peggy into the living room and found Natasha already sitting down on the red couch flipping through the channels. Peggy took a seat next to her and Bucky leaned against the frame of the archway.

"She tends to psych herself out," Peggy explained. "She tells herself she's not good enough or that she's going to do something embarrassing and cause said guy to laugh in her face. It's a lot of little things. She's a perfectionist, even if she says she isn't. It has its pros and cons to be so anal."

Natasha snorted next to Peggy, the brunette rolling her eyes at the redhead. Bucky pressed his lips together in a tight line and nodded. He lifted his left wrist to look at the time and sighed.

"What time is her date?"

Both women answered with "7 o'clock" causing Bucky to click his tongue. "It's 6:15. She's going to be late."

"Says who?"

Bucky turned his head and his jaw went slack. Sofia was dressed in an off-shoulder little black dress that hugged her in all the right places and her feet were decorated with red suede pumps making her calve muscles extra prominent. Her hair was parted down the middle and straightened to a T. Her lipstick matched her shoes and her eyes were even more doll-like due to the fake lashes.

"I-I... uh, I—"

Sofia laughed and swatted his shoulder. "Let's go."

Natasha and Peggy stifled a laugh from the couch and walked them out, promising Sofia that they would be here when she got back. Of course, Natasha couldn't let her go without at least one last comment.

"No funny business! Wouldn't want to give Mr. Stark the wrong impression." She winked at Sofia.

Sofia held her middle finger up high in the air as Bucky shuffled her into the waiting SUV and shut the door behind her. He sent a small wave to the women standing at the door, seeming like parents before hopping into the passenger seat and heading down the restaurant.

Once outside the restaurant, Bucky jumped out of the car once it was parked and opened the door for Sofia. She thanked him under her breath and ran her hands through her hair. She walked into the restaurant and Bucky waved the driver off. He knew he had to come back in a couple of hours.

Bucky followed behind Sofia and soon realized that the place was nice. Of course, he didn't expect anything less from Tony Stark. Sofia was quickly swept away by the hostess who took her to the back part of the restaurant where the one and only was already sitting at the table looking at the extensive menu.

He looked up at Sofia from the bill of fare and smiled. Bucky hadn't paid much attention to him at the Ellen show, but he could see that he had charm by the way he made Sofia blush in the dark. Bucky swallowed hard and nodded at the waitress before turning back on his heel and standing at the entrance that led anyone to where they were sitting.

Sofia sat across Tony and they both engaged in conversation very quickly. Sofia found a couple of things in common with Tony but she still felt like she wasn't good enough to be sitting there with him. He was lovely. She watched as Tony made everyone that came over almost buckle over in shock. Tony Stark was an inventor of many things, taking over his dad's company and continuing to come up with new ideas every day.

Over a couple of glasses of wine, jokes, and pasta Sofia found herself pretty comfortable with Tony. She finally felt at ease; she didn't need to put up a front with him. Maybe Tony was the one who would change her relationship status.

Bucky yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked at his watch and realized an hour and a half had passed. He wondered how long they would take. Bucky tapped his foot against the floor to the beat of the soft music playing in the air when someone came up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Yes?" Bucky put on his best bodyguard face.

"Sir, we have a problem."

Bucky walked out to the front of the restaurant and was quickly met with the problem. Bright, white flashing lights along with screams from what he assumed were fans heavily lined the entrance and sidewalk.

"Oh my, God."

"We're trying to hold them off but we can't keep them out of here for long. This is a public place."

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose, huffing out a breath and pushing past the manager to race towards the back of the restaurant. He walked into the secluded area to find Tony and Sofia sharing a quick kiss. Bucky awkwardly cleared his throat and Sofia looked over at him. Her eyebrows furrowed while Tony's eyes narrowed at Bucky.

"Sofia, there's... paparazzi outside and fans. The manager said there's not much he can do to keep them from coming inside."

There was a flash of fear that crossed her eyes and Tony sat back in his seat. "We gotta go." She said. "I can't... if they come in here I-I don't know. I don't know."

Her mind was racing and her heart seemed to mirror it as well. She looked over at Tony and he scoffed. Bucky felt his blood boil.

"Really?" Tony raised a brow.

"Really." Sofia snapped back.

She pushed herself back from the table and grabbed her black clutch. Sofia shot Tony a look and shook her head. She confidently told Bucky "let's go" and with one last look at Tony, they were off to the kitchen.

That was when Sofia completely shed her cool-girl persona and suddenly became a sacred, anxious little girl. Sofia's eyes widened in fear. She hadn't been mobbed like that in years. She began to wonder who revealed her location. Bucky was quick on his feet, calling Peggy and letting her know what happened.

"What does Sofia want to do now?"

"I don't know. It looks like she's having a panic attack." His eyes scanned her face but Sofia seemed to have been frozen in time. "There's a back way out of here," he explained. "Can you call the driver and tell him to bring the car around?"

"Okay," Peggy responded. "Just keep her safe, Barnes. Don't let her out of your sight."

"Carter," he grumbled lowly before hanging up.

He crossed the now empty kitchen in two large strides, his large hands coming to rest on Sofia's bare shoulders. "I'm gonna get you out of here," Bucky assured her.

They locked eyes and Sofia blinked twice. Bucky's lips twitched into a hopeful grin before he removed his hands from her shoulders and called out to the restaurant manager. Meanwhile, Sofia tried to calm herself down with breathing exercises and happy thoughts.

"Miss. Gonzalez," Bucky called. "Let's go. Your car is waiting out back."

Sofia nodded slowly before moving her feet across the ceramic floor to where Bucky was standing. He removed his jacket and held it out for her. She looked at the jacket and then up at him with furrowed brows causing Bucky to lick his lips and his ears turn pink.

"So that if anyone is out there, you can hide behind this."

"Oh," Sofia squeaked. "Okay. Thanks."

She grabbed his jacket and held it up to cover her face, Bucky quickly taking a hold of her elbow and guiding her through the back of the restaurant and out into the cool night where the SUV was ready to go as soon as they were both in the car.

Thanks to Bucky's quick thinking, no one was out back waiting for her and he sighed in relief. Bucky shut the door behind Sofia and then jumped into the passenger's seat, the driver speeding off into the busy street and heading back to Sofia's place.

Sofia draped the jacket over her legs to keep her warm while Bucky kept an eye on here through the mirror on the visor. The whole way home Sofia rode in silence, which was rare because she was usually, if not always, a pretty chatty girl.

Once they were behind the large, steel gates of her mansion she got out of the car without a single word and went straight inside and up to her room. Bucky debated on following her up, but in the end, he did anyway. He had to make sure she was okay. It was his job.

He slowly walked up the stairs, coming to the door of her bedroom and knocking gently. He waited about a minute before it creaked open. Sofia's makeup-free face came into view and Bucky was one hundred percent sure that he had never seen someone as beautiful as her in his entire life.

"Yes?" She raised a brow.

"Jacket," he blurted out. Bucky mentally facepalmed himself; why did he have to be such an idiot? "I mean... you have my jacket."

 _No, that's not what you were going to say,_  he thought to himself.

"Oh," she replied. "Yeah, hold on."

Sofia closed the door behind her and walked to her closet where she threw Bucky's jacket onto the island that was perfectly placed in the center. She walked back to the door and took a deep breath before opening it again, sticking her hand out and handing it over to its respective owner,

"Thanks," Bucky swallowed. An awkward beat passed before Bucky cleared his throat. "You okay?"

Sofia hummed, "I will be."

He frowned. "You want to talk about it?"

She shook her head, "Not really. Besides, it's late already. I don't want to keep you up."

He furrowed his brows but nodded nonetheless, respecting her decision. "Okay. Goodnight, Miss. Gonzalez."

"Goodnight, Bucky."


	7. The Family

The next morning Sofia woke up bright and early. Her body felt a bit sore, most likely from being so tense due to last night's events. After a long, hot shower she made her way downstairs and found the area silent and empty.  

She made her way to the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out the half-empty gallon of milk and then walking to the large pantry, taking out a box of her favorite cereal. Quickly pouring herself a bowl she went around the island and hopped on a stool. She passed the time by staring at the wall in front of her, watching the big hand on the clock tick slowly.

Sofia finally got to the end of her bowl when she heard the front door click. Her eyes widened and narrowed to the entrance of her home. She slowly got up and tiptoed to the front room, releasing a breath at the sight of Bucky. But then another breath hitched in her throat at his shirtless body.

"Holy..." She whispered low enough for only her to hear. Bucky also had his earbuds in so there was no way he could've heard her.

His body was that of a Greek God. The sweat that gathered on his tan skin illuminated his muscles and boy, were they defined. His biceps were huge and his pecs and abs were so ripped that she wondered how much he worked out to maintain a body like that. Sofia's eyes trailed down his body as she bit down on her lip, his black basketball shorts hanging low on his hips and the top of his underwear band peaking above.

She didn't have much more time to drool over Bucky because she heard her name come out of his mouth, snapping her out of her sinful thoughts and sending him an awkward smile.

"Hey," she greeted.

He chuckled, furrowing his brows. "You okay?"

"Perfect." She admitted.

He held her gaze for a millisecond before smirking and nodding. "Alright. I'm gonna go take a shower. Got anything to do today?"

"Nope."

Bucky walked away and Sofia sighed dreamily. Wanting to get her mind off of him, she walked out to her large backyard and sat down on one of the chairs that were perfectly placed in the sun. She let the warmth envelope her and tan her skin, creating a new glow.

Sofia heard the glass door slide open sometime later and she opened one eye to find Bucky walking out of the house. His hair was still damp but he had put on a shirt and jeans. She could take that better than shirtless Bucky that was for sure.

"Hey," Bucky sat across from her, resting his elbows on his knees.

Sofia held her hand above her eyebrow to shade the sun from her eyes. "Hey."

"I didn't mean to scare you back there." He pointed to the inside of the house. "I thought I'd be back before you woke up. But it turns out that these hills are steeper than I imagined."

Sofia snorted causing Bucky to grin. Silence encompassed them except for the occasional bird chirping or the sound of the wind blowing above them. Then, Sofia cleared her throat and looked out into the city.

"About yesterday... uh, sorry for freaking out." She started. "I don't always get like that. Something happened when I first started and I was kind of thrown back to that day when you came and told us about the situation outside."

Bucky tilted his head to the left, wanting to ask what happened but decided that if Sofia wanted to share the incident she would without him asking. And he was very right.

"I didn't have a security guard at the time because I was just starting. I didn't have a big following—or so I thought. One day, I went out to the store by myself, as a normal person does," she chuckled dryly.  "On my way to my car I was stopped by someone and then another person came up to me soon after. Before I even knew it, I was being pushed around and being called from left to right. I don't remember what happened after that or who got me out of there, but that was when I knew that I couldn't go out alone anymore. That was when I realized that my life had changed overnight."

"Big crowds usually freak me out," she admitted, looking back at Bucky. "Alone or not. It had been a while since something like that happened. Probably since Coulson got..."

Sofia still had a hard time with the incident. Sometimes she found herself waking up during the middle of the night in a heavy sweat as she relived the moment all over again in her dreams. 

"Miss. Gonzalez," Bucky searched for her eyes. Once they met, he smiled softly. "I'm never going to let anything happen to you ever. You understand that?"

Sofia found herself smiling back at him, believing his promise. "Yeah. I do."

During the next couple of weeks, Bucky and Sofia began to grow closer. They shared more details of their personal lives (though still not much) and both of their crushes began to blossom into something much bigger and much stronger. 

Bucky tagged along to events, as expected, and on days off they would sometimes watch movies all day and eat junk food. Of course, it was a secret made between the two of them about the overeating of junk. Sofia made sure Bucky crossed his heart when she made him promise to make no mention of such a thing to her trainer. 

He also rehearsed her lines with her; Bucky found it boring and if he was, to be honest, it was one of the things he dreaded doing with her. Sofia, on the other hand, hated running up the steep hills with Bucky in the early mornings. They both decided that they were even when they put each other to do things they didn't like.

After a very long shopping trip, Bucky and Sofia headed out back to her deck and hung out on the chairs. Sofia enjoyed Bucky's company and vice versa. Even when there was nothing to say there wasn't an awkward feeling in the air. If anything it was comforting. 

Sofia was falling asleep, thanks to the warmth that surrounded her when she heard her phone ring. She groaned and reached into her pocket, pulling out her iPhone and answering it. Bucky turned his head to look at her, watching her eyebrows furrow and then a small frown appeared on her face. She looked over at him, feeling his eyes on her face and he nodded, silently asking what was going on. She shook her head at him and looked away, bringing her index finger up to her mouth and biting the skin around her nailbed.

She stayed on the phone a couple of more minutes before sighing and hanging up. Placing her phone on the small table placed in between her and Bucky, she looked over at him and sent him a tight smile.

"So... you know how my birthday is next weekend?"

"Yes," he replied. 

"Well, that was my mom and she wants me to go visit that Saturday—" She bit down on her bottom lip. "Are you going to be okay tagging along with me?"

For some reason, the thought of meeting her parents and maybe even her family had him feeling kind of nervous. But who was he to say no?

"Do I have a choice?"

She shot him a look that confused him, but he brushed it off. "Okay, then. We'll be heading down to my parent's house next weekend."

Her birthday came sooner than expected and she was awoken by Natasha and Peggy bright and early on Saturday morning. Natasha released a bunch of balloons in Sofia's room while Peggy held a large bouquet of sunflowers—Sofia's favorite.

After both women finished their obnoxious rendition of 'Happy Birthday' they jumped onto Sofia's California King sized bed squishing her in a hug. 

"You're so old now," Natasha exclaimed with a laugh.

"Shut up!" Sofia squealed, pushing the redhead off of her.

Peggy kissed the top of Sofia's head and laughed. "Oh, don't be daft! You are far from old, Sof."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "I'm 28. That's pretty old. And I'm positive that I found a grey hair the other day."

"Will you please, for the love of God, stop being so dramatic for once?" Natasha teased.

Sofia playfully shoved her shoulder causing Natasha to fall back on the bed again. Everyone laughed and spent a couple of minutes talking, asking Sofia about any future birthday plans. Usually, she'd go on a trip somewhere but she hadn't mentioned anything since last year's trip to the Bahamas. 

Following their talk, Sofia got up to get ready for the day. The girls headed downstairs and were met with a groggy Bucky. Natasha and Peggy gave each other a look before making a pot of coffee. 

An hour later, Sofia came down the stairs fresh-faced and semi-ready for the eventful day to find Bucky, Nat, and Peggy laughing and talking. She frowned, not liking being left out, but shrugged anyway. Bucky spotted her first, smiling up at her and nodding. 

"Happy Birthday," he greeted.

"Thanks."

Sofia served herself a cup of coffee and walked to the group of three, leaning against the island bar. She quickly joined the conversation and all of her nerves of the day's later events disappeared. 

When Sofia looked back at the clock above the stove, she gasped. It was already 10 AM and she had planned on being on the road by 11 AM. Bucky was still in his pajamas and she wasn't even completely ready.

"We gotta cut this gathering short," Sofia announced. "I gotta get ready and so does Bucky."

Natasha mocked her and Peggy swatted her arm while Bucky chuckled. They washed their cups before saying goodbye and wishing both of them luck. Bucky, still confused, thanked them anyway before watching Sofia rush up the stairs and hearing the door slam behind her.

They headed out of the house at exactly 11 AM, the fact making Sofia a bit unnerved but she didn't let it bother her much. She decided to drive over to her parent's house while Bucky quietly sat in the passenger's seat. 

The drive over felt like forever due to the lack of conversation and music as well as the insane amount of Los Angeles traffic. But once in her childhood neighborhood, Sofia seemed to relax in her seat. She parked in the driveway of what he assumed was her parent's home and watched her take a deep breath.

Sofia looked over at Bucky, an emotion he wasn't sure he had learned about her yet, flashed across her face. "My family is kind of... overbearing. Let me know if they make you feel uncomfortable in any way and I'll get you out of here."

"Miss. Gonzalez," he chuckled. "It'll be fine."

She blinked and stared into Bucky's blue eyes for a couple of seconds before taking in another deep breath and unbuckling her seatbelt, quickly getting out of the car and leaving him behind. Bucky didn't understand why she needed to put on a show. This was her family. She was supposed to be herself with them.

Once he was out of the vehicle, she locked it up and led the way up to the front door. As soon as she twisted open the doorknob a loud crashing sound came from the backyard and then, what Bucky assumed, a string of Spanish curse words in a deep male voice.

Bucky shut the door behind him slowly and Sofia made her way into the kitchen, saying hello loudly to the women and men gathered around helping with the food and drinks.

"Sofia!"

"Ma," Sofia replied with a big smile on her face. They both met up halfway from their spots and enveloped each other in a tight, long and mostly overdue hug.

" _Mi niña_ —" her mom wiped at her eyes when they pulled away. " _Como siempre tan preciosa!_ " Her eyes traveled to Bucky and she raised a brow.

Sofia looked back at her bodyguard and waved him over. "This is James... well, actually I call him Bucky."

" _Hola_ , Bucky!" Her mom pulled him in for a hug.

He laughed as they pulled away, mumbling a small "hola" as well. Bucky listened to Sofia and her mom communicate in perfect Spanish suddenly wishing he had paid more attention to school.

"Well, let me go and start introducing him to everyone that's here." Sofia huffed. Her mom swatted her shoulder playfully before walking away and calling out to the backyard.

Sofia dragged Bucky through the kitchen, saying hello to aunts and uncles and introducing them to Bucky. She snuck up on her grandma who was busy warming up the tortillas on the passed down  _comal_. Bucky watched as the older woman's freckled hands came in contact with the hot tortilla and how she didn't flinch one bit.

" _Abuelita_ ," Sofia sang softly.

" _Por fin apareces_ ," her grandma retorted.

" _Había estado ocupada,_ " Sofía explained, leaning her chin on her grandma's shoulder. " _Pero te extraño._ " She pouted.

"Mmm," her grandma hummed, her eyebrows raised sky-high. Grandmas were always tough, even if they did like to spoil you. Sofia realized that her grandmother took her absence harder than anyone else in the family.

" _Abuelita_ , don't be like this.  _Te quiero introducir a mi nuevo guardaespaldas._ "

The older woman turned around and Bucky was met with the face of a loving grandmother who took many risks for her family. Whether he knew the story or not, he felt the presence of a very strong woman.

"This is Bucky," Sofia wrapped her arm around her grandmother's shoulders. "Bucky this is my grandma Lola."

"Hello," Bucky nodded curtly.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she scanned his face and then looked him up and down with her left eyebrow raised before tilting her chin up and locking eyes with him. Bucky gulped and Sofia chuckled.

" _Abuelita_ ," she warned.

" _No crees que esta un poco joven para ser tu guardespaldas?_ "

" _No_ ," Sofia replied. " _Él es la edad perfecta._ "

" _Para ser tu novio, claro!_ "

Bucky furrowed his brows but Sofia gasped, the apples of her cheeks turning pink. She gave her grandma one last look before kissing her cheek swiftly and pulling him out to the backyard. 

They were both met with a beautifully decorated setting, thanks to Sofia's cousin who specialized in homemade decoration. Sofia spotted her grandpa first, looking as young as ever. She rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, Bucky listening to her laugh as the older man talked to her. 

"Bucky!" She waved him over. "Come here."

Bucky stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked over, the older man giving him a stern look but quickly breaking into a smile. Bucky mentally sighed in relief. Thank, God.

"You're taking care of my  _nieta_  here?" His accent was thick and his voice rough.

"Yes, sir." Bucky nodded, hoping that his voice didn't falter. 

Sofia walked over to Bucky and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's great at what he does,  _tata_.  _Siempre me cuida._ "

Her grandpa smiled at both of them before yelling at one of Sofia's uncles to bring over a beer. Bucky was about to deny the offer but Sofia nudged his side. "Just take this one." She whispered.

The Modelo was placed into his hand and he clinked the glass bottle with the one her grandfather was already drinking before Sofia pulled him away to introduce him to even more family. Bucky mentally noted to ask her later if she had more family that wasn't at the party.

" _Pa_ —" Sofia held her chin up high. "Hi."

Bucky could feel the tension between them. Sofia hadn't said anything about it so he shrugged it off. Sofia wasn't like an open book anyway. Whenever she wanted to share something with him it had to be on her own accord. 

"Sofia," the man replied. His eyes quickly softened at the sight of his daughter standing in front of him. He opened his arms and Sofia walked into them, a long and tight embrace following. 

Bucky couldn't hear their mumblings but when they pulled away Sofia wiped at her eyes. She quickly put on a smile and introduced Bucky to her father. After a bit of small talk, Sofia pulled Bucky away and finally took him inside the house again where all the kids ran past their legs and out into the backyard. 

" _Que bueno que ya acabaron afuera_." Sofia's mom held up her index finger. " _Mija, mijo, me ayudan a llevar la comida a las mesas de afuera?_ "

Sofia nodded and pulled Bucky with her. He set down his beer bottle on the tiled counter and helped bring out the trays of food to the tables set outback. Everyone began to serve themselves as soon as it was all set up. Bucky watched from the side when he heard Sofia's voice boom from the other side of the yard and watched as she marched towards him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to the side of the table where the plastic plates were at.

"I cannot believe them," she huffed. "Telling me to serve you." 

"What?" Bucky furrowed his brows at her as they both reached out to grab a plate.

"It's some machismo thing my family will not let go of—that us women should serve the men." Sofia laughed dryly, moving down the table as she looked at the trays of her favorite food. "It's ridiculous. Men have two perfectly good hands and feet that they can put to use."

Bucky wasn't sure if it was okay to laugh so he pressed his lips together to stifle it. He watched as she served herself food from each tray, and angrily he might add before she stalked off and sat down at one of the tables with her cousins.

He followed her after serving himself and sat down in the plastic chair next to her. He soon realized her cousins were more laidback than the older relatives and they were quite hilarious too. They dished out stories from their childhood, telling Bucky that Sofia was always destined for stardom. She was always front and center for everything. 

The sun began to set and one of Sofia's cousins, Roberto, got up from the table to steal one of the bottles of Patron from the older family members. He even made sure to bring plastic cups for each person at the table since there were no plastic shot cups.

" _Tia_  Maria would kill me if I went inside and brought out her glass ones," he said with a laugh, placing the red cups in front of everyone.

" _Tio_ Miguel would be the one to kill you." Alexa snorted, watching her brother struggle with popping the cap off.

Sofia rolled her eyes with a chuckle and watched as Roberto poured just enough into all the cups for it to be considered a shot. Once everyone,  including Bucky, had their cup in their hand they brought it to the center and crashed them all together before downing it quickly.

"Oh, God!" Sofia cried as her face scrunched up. "That shit is so nasty."

"But you want another one right?" Her other cousin, Daniel, instigated.

Sofia was always up for a challenge and if she were being honest, she needed all the drinks she could get. Bucky watched as the second shot became the third and then the third became the fourth. He lost count after the sixth one, especially after Sofia got up from the table and began to dance with her cousins to the music that played loudly in the air. 

It got darker and Sofia downed more alcohol as her family watched her grow into a drunken mess. But this time she didn't care. She was tired of being held up on this pedestal of perfectionism. She wasn't perfect and she would never be. If this is what it would take for them to realize it then so be it.

"Bucky!" She sang loudly, throwing her arms around his neck when she found him looking through one of the three coolers for a bottle of water. She smelled of pure alcohol and he instantly knew he would have to drive back home.

"Hey," he chuckled. "You okay there?"

"I. Am. Perfect!" She slurred. "But I gotta pee," she added with a whisper.

"Want me to help you get there?" He moved his face back so he could get a good look at her.

Sofia's eyelids were heavy but he could still see the glassy reflection. There was a slight pink hue on her cheeks but it was only noticeable if he looked hard enough. She was definitely drunk.

She nodded and he wrapped his arm around her waist as she let go of his neck. They walked up the back steps into the warm house and she led the way to the bathroom. He let go of her and watched her walk inside shutting the old wooden door behind her. 

Bucky let out a sigh as he leaned against the wall across from it. He only had a second to breathe before the door opened again, Sofia's head peeking out with a shy smile etched across her face.

"I need help... with my pants."

Bucky's eyes widened. "Oh, Miss. Gonzalez, I-I don't know. I could go get your mom or Alexa, maybe even your grandma to come to help you."

"Please! I'm going to pee myself in 5 seconds if you don't help me." She cried. "The zipper is on the back and I can't reach it."

He looked at both sides of the hallway, making sure no one was coming or going before taking one long stride to the door. Sofia pulled him inside and he was met with a rustic-like bathroom. Being in such close proximity to Sofia made his heart beat faster and his stomach grow with nerves. She turned around and lifted her blouse slightly, his eyes traveling to her backside.

"Okay," he breathed out.

"Hurry or I'm going to pee myself." She yelled at him in a whisper.

His left hand came to her hip to stop her moving while his right hand grabbed the clasp of the zipper, quickly pulling it down. Bucky caught a glimpse of her red lacy underwear, his cheeks turning the same color as her undergarments. He quickly backed up and placed his hand on the doorknob, opening the door just enough to slip out only to bump into Sofia's dad in the hallway.

"Oh, shit!" Bucky jumped. "Sorry, Mr. Gonzalez."

Her dad raised his brows at Bucky making him feel even more taken aback. To Bucky's luck, the bathroom door opened and out came Sofia. Bucky was sure he saw a million different colors flash across her dad's face as he probably assumed what was going on in the bathroom before Bucky ran out.

" _Papi!_ " Sofia sang again.

" _Que andabas haciendo en el baño con este_ —"

Sofia narrowed her eyes at him. "He was helping me with my zipper." 

"You couldn't have called your mom or your cousin?"

"That's what I said," Bucky commented but quickly shut his mouth when they both gave him a look. Nothing more was said between daughter and father, Sofia pulling Bucky away and leaving her dad in the hallway.

"We're going home now." She demanded, looking for her bag in the living room full of angsty teenagers entranced on their phone.

"What?" Bucky stopped behind the brown leather couch. "You haven't even cut your cake!" He looked back to the kitchen counter where the cake sat in a pink box.

"We're going home right now." She huffed, stumbling a bit but catching herself on one of her cousin's shoulder.

"Aren't you at least going to say bye to everyone? This is your party."

"I don't care—" She walked up to him. "—I'm tired of being treated like I'm a little girl. I don't need my family anymore."

"Miss. Gonzalez," Bucky mumbled, his face falling as he watched her bottom lip tremble. "Please."

Her eyes challenged his but in the end, she crossed her arms and stomped over to the sliding door, walking down the three steps and marching straight over to her grandma. Bucky couldn't hear what Sofia was saying but he watched as they hugged tight and Sofia kissed her cheek lovingly.

Sofia's mom watched with sad eyes as her daughter walked away without a goodbye just like she had so many times before. Bucky and Maria made eye contact, his own heart hurting at the situation they were all in.

"Let's go." Sofia pushed past him.

Bucky didn't have much of a choice. With one last look at her mom and a small nod, he followed her out to her car and took the keys from her hand.

After unlocking the doors, Sofia jumped in and crossed the seatbelt over her body. Bucky did the same and turned on the car, the engine quickly roaring to life. He was trying to understand what the hell had just happened. Sofia was just fine, or so he thought. But she was also drunk and he began to wonder if she had drunk so much to be able to deal with her family.

The drive back home wasn't as long as the drive to her parent's house but Bucky didn't let her off the hook when he parked her car. He turned to her to find her with furrowed brows and a pout on her face.

He scoffed. "What the hell?"

"What?" She snapped. "You want to know why right? Why I treat my family that way?"

Bucky gripped the steering wheel hard waiting for her explanation.

"Bucky, I can't deal with the way they treat me so why should I treat them any different. I love them dearly, but my, God it is fucking ridiculous! Half of those people there tonight? They fucking shit all over me when they found out that I wanted to pursue my dream as an actor. Not to mention that they all think that because I'm a woman they get to treat me a certain way."

"I can get by on my own. I don't need them. I haven't needed them for 8 years. I love them," her voice broke. "But I cannot, for the life of me, let them make me feel less than what I am. I will not."

For the first time, Bucky watched Sofia break down in front of him. Tears flowed from her eyes as she tried to silence her sobs. Bucky slowly unbuckled himself, crawled out of the Mercedes Benz and left Sofia stumped for a second before the door opened and he held his hand out for her to take.

She took it without a second thought and more tears spilled as soon as she stepped out. What she didn't expect was for Bucky to hug her right against his chest, his fingers running through her wavy hair and soft cooing in her ear.

"I'm sorry." He whispered as he squeezed her harder. "I'm so sorry."

 


	8. Vacation

There was no talk about the incident at her parent's house the day after or for any matter. On occasion, Bucky would find Sofia talking on the phone in Spanish to who he assumed was someone in her family.

Everything went back to normal after a week or so. Sofia was back in meetings with movie producers as well as television producers. They wanted her to be the main star of everything they were deciding to put out in the fall. With new opportunities on the line and endless conversations with her attorney, as well as Peggy, who was her manager, and the rest of her team, Sofia suddenly became insanely stressed.

Bucky would hear her wake up at odd hours of the night, turning on every single light of her house and making lots of noise. When he'd wake up the next morning he found things rearranged or parts of her house cleaned to the hilt.

Peggy also frequented more than usual. Natasha would show up sometimes, too. She had mentioned to Bucky that Sofia's mood kind of scared her and she wasn't fully equipped on how to deal with her. Peggy was way better at it than her.

While Peggy would spend time in Sofia's room, Natasha and Bucky usually hung out. Sometimes they watched movies or played games. He had recently picked up a basketball when he and Sofia went out shopping and a couple of days later she surprised him with a hoop. So whenever Natasha was over, they'd play one on one; Natasha usually kicking his ass without breaking a sweat.

Bucky and Natasha played best of five, Natasha winning the first three rounds leaving Bucky breathless and defeated. She laughed at him and tucked the orange ball underneath her arm sauntering over to the front door and opening it, Bucky following a couple of steps behind her. He shut the heavy door behind him just as Peggy and Sofia walked down the stairs. Something about Sofia seemed different. Her step was lighter and her face wasn't set in a tight-lipped smile.

"Where's Nat?" 

"Right here," Natasha announced, opening a water bottle and taking a swig. 

"Ready to go?" Peggy asked, eyeing her current state.

"I guess." The redhead shrugged. "Bye, Sofia."

"I would hug you but you're all sweaty," Sofia said with a raise of her brows and a disgusted look on her face.

Natasha's mouth fell open, feining offensiveness towards Sofia's comment. "Fuck you."

Sofia then burst into laughter and so did Natasha. They both walked up to one another and squeezed the other tight, Sofia not caring that Natasha was sticky and sweaty. When they pulled away they smiled at each other and then Peggy and Natasha disappeared. 

Bucky walked into the kitchen, removing his shirt from his damp body and throwing it over his shoulder. Sofia stopped in her tracks when she saw his muscled back roaming around her kitchen.  _He really needs to stop doing that_ , she thought.

She cleared her throat. "Hey, I have something to ask you."

Bucky looked back at her, a small grin growing on his scruffy face. "What's up?"

"So... I've been really stressed lately," she laughed awkwardly. "And I want to apologize for being so moody and weird."

He shook his head, waving her off. "Miss. Gonzalez, it's okay. We all deal with stress differently."

"Still," she pressed. "Just accept it."

Bucky laughed, holding his hands up in the air and nodding. "Okay, okay. Apology accepted."

"Thank you," Sofia sighed. "But I still haven't finished." Bucky raised his right brow at her and watched as a bright smile erupted on her face. "I just planned a week-long trip to Mexico and I want you to come with." Her eyes were twinkling.

Bucky chuckled again, but this time out of surprise. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Sofia frowned. "Why not?" Bucky walked around her and padded to his room with Sofia hot on his heels. "Just think of it as a paid vacation. You get to relax, drink, eat, swim and hang out in the sun all day for a week."

He stopped outside his door, turning to look at her but almost bumping into her from how close she was. "I was hired to protect you, not have fun with you."

Sofia rolled her eyes— "So have we not had fun all the times we've hung out? Or am I reading into things?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm the boss so I demand you come along with me. Besides, you'll still be working. It's a win-win situation."

Bucky let out a breath and Sofia frowned. This was only going to make things more complicated. Bucky was walking a thin line, but so was Sofia. Of course, neither of them knew it. 

"Please," she begged, giving him the best puppy dog eyes she could. 

"Miss. Gonzalez," he groaned. "You're being ridiculous. It's not like I have a choice now do I?"

She hummed. "No, you don't, but I want to hear you say it."

"Say what?" The voice was full of confusion. 

Sofia blinked, pursing her lips. "That you'll go. That you will come with us on our little getaway."

Bucky sputtered a laugh. "Fine; Yes, Miss. Gonzalez, I will go with you to Mexico for an entire week."

"And?"

"And what?" He asked incredulously. 

"That you're going to have fun and not act like you have a stick up your ass."

"I do not act like I have a stick up my ass," he defended himself.

"Sometimes."

He playfully glared at her before rolling his blue eyes. "Fine. I will go to Mexico with you and have a lot of fun the entire time I am there."

A smile the size of Texas appeared on her face and she squealed, throwing her arms around Bucky's neck thanking him over and over again. Bucky hugged her back, laughing in her ear causing goosebumps to rise on her tan skin.

They pulled away, both of them in a weird haze. Sofia cleared her throat and brushed her hair behind her ears. With a small nod, she walked off and left Bucky standing at his door feeling lovestruck.

Two weeks later, Bucky was helping Sofia with the fourth and last suitcase she was taking with her to Mexico. He teased the living daylights out of her, asking her if she really needed that much luggage and then some. All to which Sofia replied with dry laughs and deadpanned looks.

They were going to meet up with Natasha and Peggy at LAX. Sofia made sure all of her house alarms were set while Bucky went around the perimeter to make sure any other entryways into her home were secured. Sofia jumped into the SUV first before Bucky did, texting Peggy and Nat that they were on their way over.

Bucky hopped into the car, catching Sofia rolling her eyes as she stuck her phone in her purse. He looked out the window, hoping that nothing would go wrong during the trip while Sofia hoped so, too. 

When they met up with Peggy and Natasha in the airport terminal, Sofia was instantly teased by Natasha for the amount of baggage she had on her. Sofia glared at her for the incessant teasing but Peggy broke the two girls apart. She did not need them to get into it in the middle of the busy airport.

"I need to get out of here," Sofia sighed dramatically. 

Bucky watched as all three women talked over each other and silently wondered if he should say anything but decided to just stay back and watch though. 

"We're going to be late!" Peggy exclaimed. "Now stop arguing and get your shit together."

Sofia rolled her eyes and Natasha grumbled under her breath. Bucky held back a laugh mostly because Peggy shot him a warning look. All four of them headed down to check in their baggage before waiting in line to get checked by the TSA.

"Such a pain in the ass," Natasha groaned as she leaned over to tie her shoe up again after going through the security clearance.

"Tell me about it," Sofia slipped on her all-white Vans. 

They all headed up to the departure lounge and went their separate ways to grab a snack. They had about an hour before they would be let into the plane anyway. Bucky, of course, tagged along with Sofia who decided on Starbucks. 

"Want anything?"

"I'm good," he said, sticking his hands into his front pants pockets. 

"You sure?" She squinted at him, not fully believing him. He was way too modest.

"Positive, Miss. Gonzalez."

She gave him one last look before turning back to look at the menu. After she ordered (and signed a napkin for the barista) she waited for her drink on the side. Bucky and Sofia made small conversation while they waited, Sofia shocked when Bucky mentioned that he had never been to Mexico.

"Not even for spring break?"

"Nope," he popped the 'P'. 

"Shut up," her voice cracked. "Wow. Well, guess there's always a first time for everything."

The corners of his lips turned up as soon as her "name" (she decided to use Natasha) was called out. She thanked the barista with a small wink before quickly walking away with Bucky next to her. 

"Bucky, you didn't get anything?" Peggy asked him when they met back up at the first-class lounge.

He shook his head.

"Your boss is an evil bitch, isn't she?" Natasha joked, nudging his arm.

"Nat!" Peggy gasped.

"I was kidding!" She took a bite out of the toasted bagel and looked at Sofia who was sipping on her coffee.

"I hate you," Sofia simply said to her publicist. 

"I love you, too, sweetcheeks." Natasha smacked her lips loudly as Sofia walked away from them. 

Bucky wasn't sure when Sofia and Natasha had made up but they were soon talking with each other like normal people do, laughing over whatever they had seen on Natasha's phone. Peggy came over and sat down next to Bucky with a long sigh. 

He looked over at her and nodded. "You okay?"

"They're going to give me a damn stroke." Peggy cried. "They are like... sisters at most. It happens so often, I should be used to it by now, but Natasha is so hardheaded—not saying Sofia isn't—which is probably why they bump heads so much. And then they make up 5 seconds later! I don't get it." 

"Neither do I," Bucky commented with a chuckle.

Peggy relaxed into the seat next to him, tapping her fingers against the armrest. "I never asked you; How did her party go?" Bucky's eyes widened at the memory. Peggy saw and laughed. "That bad?"

"No?" It came out more as a question and Peggy raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, it was fine at first—I think. Then her family started shitting on her? I didn't hear anything personally, and if I did I wouldn't have understood anyway."

Peggy hummed next to him and he continued. "Before I knew it, she was drunk. She had me help her with the zipper of her pants because—"

"Oh my, God." Peggy squeaked beside him. 

"What?"

"Nothing." She replied quickly. "Nothing. Go on."

"Then I leave the bathroom and bump into her dad. Of course, Sofia decides to come out a second after, which now has me wondering if she even used the bathroom."

Peggy ran a hand down her face as she tried not to scream at Sofia from across the way. How could she have done that? 

"There was this weird confrontation of some sort between her and her dad in the hallway before she pulled me away and told me we were going home. I was so confused at that point that I didn't know what to do."

"Jesus Christ," Peggy blew a raspberry.

"She wanted to leave without saying goodbye to anyone."

"Yeah?" Peggy already knew of Sofia's antics and her family problems. She had been with her from the start. Peggy was bound to figure it out sooner than later.

"But I made her at least say goodbye to her grandma."

Peggy pursed her lips. "Did she?"

"Yeah. She did."

"Oh my, God."

Bucky was interrupted by the loud overhead speaker announcing their flight departure. The four of them stood up simultaneously, Sofia's arm hooked with Natasha's. Peggy handed everyone their ticket before walking up to gate agents who checked their boarding passes and let them through.

Sofia took the window seat, Bucky took the seat next to her and Natasha and Peggy behind them since the seats were two per row. A blonde, flight attendant quickly shuffled over to them asking if they wanted anything to drink or eat. They all politely declined, Natasha softly saying that she was making room to eat tacos and drink a whole bunch of tequila. Sofia mentally gagged at the sound of 'tequila' while Bucky thought of all the tacos he was going to eat.

"I'm going to sleep," Sofia announced, adjusting her pillow and head against the window. "See you in 4 hours."

Sofia was dead asleep by the time the plane was in the air. To Bucky's luck, she had fastened her seatbelt before she knocked out so he didn't have to do it for her. He occupied the time being with one of the movies listed on the small screen in front of him. But he also fell asleep about an hour into the plane ride. When he woke up, he found Sofia's head resting on his shoulder and his head leaning on hers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Cancún International Airport. Local time is 2 PM and the temperature is 80 degrees Fahrenheit." 

Bucky stretched his legs in front of him, removing his head from Sofia's and gently shaking her. "Miss. Gonzalez, we're here."

She moaned softly and Bucky stayed still. He shook her one more time, her eyes opening slowly. She grumbled in Spanish while removing her head from his shoulder. He let go of a breath he had no idea he was holding as he watched her yawn and a run a hand through her hair. 

"Let the fun begin." Natasha giggled next to Peggy as she watched Sofia and Bucky through the little crack between the seats.

 


	9. Arrival

As soon as they stepped off the plane and got their luggage, they got into their waiting car and headed off to the private beach house owned by none other than Sofia. Bucky stared in awe at the villa-style house when it came into sight. Sure, he had stayed in castles and The White House, but never something so close to the ocean. It did not compare to all of the trips to the Hamptons with President Sam Wilson and his family.

The car parked right out front the large steel gates, the four of them hopping out and looking up at the home they got to call theirs for a week. Bucky and Natasha helped with all the luggage while Peggy and Sofia went inside to make sure everything was okay. The air was humid and making everyone sticky as hell that by the time they had situated themselves in their rooms, they were a sweaty mess.

"Ugh," Natasha huffed as she walked over to the empty fridge. "There's no water! Sofia, what the hell?"

"There's a store down the road," Sofia waved her off. "We'll go and get some right now."

"But I don't want to walk," Natasha whined.

"Suck it up. Let's go."

Bucky stood up from the metal stool but Sofia dismissed him, telling him that she didn't need him to follow her. He fell back onto the seat, Peggy snorting over his shoulder as Natasha and Sofia walked out of the house.

"Did she... just..." He trailed off with the slam of the front door.

"Sure did," Peggy clicked her tongue. "Chances of anyone mobbing her or realizing it's her while she's out here are slim to none."

"But she said I was coming to work."

"She said that so you would agree to come."

Peggy quickly shut her mouth, Bucky's eyebrows furrowing in confusion.  _What did that even mean?_  Peggy patted his shoulder and walked away from him while Bucky's mind tried to wrap around her statement. He knew he was going to go crazy if he tried to figure it out so he went out to the back part of the house, meeting the beach a few feet away from the patio.

The sound of the waves was loud and clear and the sun bounced off the light-colored sand. It was a paradise if he knew it. Running a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh escaping past his lips Bucky began to walk across the sand bouncing from one foot to the other as he took his shoes off and throwing them back onto the wooden deck.

He made his way down to the shore, the clear blue water kissing his feet. His thoughts began to wash in and out of his head like the water in front of him. What was he doing? He should've known the first time he met Sofia that he would be in deep trouble. How could he not fall for her? She was beautiful, smart, funny and even if there were issues she dealt with, all he wanted to do was love her and hold her in his arms. He wanted to always protect her from harm.

Sofia and Natasha walked back to the house with gallons of water and some sweets and chips. Natasha put everything away while Sofia looked for Peggy and Bucky. She hoped to not find them in any sort of action. She believed that Peggy had taken a liking to Bucky the way she had. 

Peggy came out of one of the three bathrooms the home had and Sofia furrowed her brows, slyly looking over her friend's shoulder. But nothing could get past Peggy.

"Who are you looking for?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip.

"Uh, no one." Sofia blinked. "I just—"

"Bucky isn't with me."

"But he's not in the house either..."

Peggy shrugged. Sofia nodded silently before stalking off and finding the back sliding door open. She snuck out and slipped off her shoes on the porch, running down a couple of wooden steps and looking left to right. The beach was empty, except for a couple of people walking along the shore. 

She quickly spotted Bucky, though. He stuck out like a sore thumb; he was the only one walking on the beach alone. Sofia began to jog over to him, taking a bit of extra time since running on sand proved to be harder than she remembered.

She caught her breath before yelling out his name. Bucky stopped in his tracks to find Sofia leaned over with her hands on her knees as she tried to compose herself. All he could do was laugh at the sight in front of him. He walked over to her as she straightened out, the back of Sofia's hand coming up to wipe her forehead.

"Didn't take you as a 'long walks on the beach' type of guy." She teased him, the left corner of her lip turning up.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Bucky retorted with a grin. 

Sofia hummed. "What else don't I know about you?"

"Oh, so now I get to do the talking?" He teased, Sofia nudging his side as they began to walk down the shore together. 

"Tell me about your family." Sofia blinked up at him. During those couple of months that they had been a pair, Bucky had never said anything about them and it always piqued her mind.

"I don't have one."

"What?" She sputtered, her eyes narrowing at him. "What do you mean you don't have one? We all have a family."

"But I don't have one," Bucky sighed. "It's a long story."

"I've got time. I have lots of it actually."

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head at her eagerness. "It's gonna get a little sad." He warned her. 

"Go on."

"I was 17—a senior in high school—when everything happened," Bucky cleared his throat. "I went away for a couple of days with my school to check out college campuses, but uh, my trip was cut short. I never got to see where I wanted to go because I had to go back home. My parents and my sister were hurt."

Sticking his hands in his pockets he continued the story. "I don't know exactly why they chose them but life is funny sometimes. We didn't live in the safest neighborhood; going out after 7 PM was considered pretty risky. My parents and my sister were coming back from this deli that was down the street, maybe about 5 blocks away. Usually, dad would drive places but for some reason, they decided to walk over. It got dark before they knew it and on the way home, they were stopped."

Sofia swallowed hard at what was to come next. Bucky didn't have to finish the story for her to piece it together. 

"All three of them were shot. Dad died the instant the bullet pierced him; I believe they said the bullet went straight through his heart. Mom died on the way over to the hospital from how much blood she was losing and my sister, Rebecca, she died a couple of days later from internal bleeding."

"Bucky," Sofia's voice cracked as she imagined the pain he must've been in. 

"After Rebecca was gone, I had nowhere to go." He sniffled. "But Steve, from Rogers' Security Service, who also happens to be my best friend, took me under his wing. His whole family did until I finished high school." He grinned at the memory. He would forever be thankful for the Rogers' and their kindness. 

"Then they're your family, Bucky. They don't need to be blood-related to be considered your family. They cared for you, they loved you like their own and I'm sure as hell that you did, too."

Bucky grinned. "Yeah. I do love them. I just... I don't know." He looked out into the ocean and spotted the sun slowly starting to set. "I guess I've been trying to not fill in my real family's shoes that I never really thought someone else could be considered my family."

"And you've got me," Sofia piped up. "And Natasha and Peggy."

He laughed softly. "Yeah, I do, don't I?"

Sofia bit down on her lip and reached out to grab his hand. Bucky felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest from how fast it was beating meanwhile Sofia's blood was pumping so hard that she could hear it loud and clear in her ears.

He couldn't bring himself to remove his hand from her's either. It felt perfect; it was almost as if they were meant to be holding hands no matter how hard his head was screaming at him to let go.

They walked back to the beach house in silence, hands still locked. The sun had completely set by the time they stepped onto the back porch. Sofia released Bucky's hand as soon as they both leaned down to dust their feet off from the sand.

Entering the home, they found Natasha laying on the couch with an arm behind her head as she stared at the TV in front of her. Peggy sat cross-legged on the loveseat reading a biography of some famed doctor who was now recovering from an accident.

"Telenovelas are no joke," Natasha snorted.

Sofia walked over to the redhead and sat on her outstretched legs earning a loud cry from Natasha.

"You think I could be in a telenovela?" Sofia asked jokingly.

"Yes," all three of them replied.

"Oh, come on!"

"See, you're doing it." Natasha poked her index finger at Sofia's side.

"Doing what?"

Natasha nodded towards the television. "Being all sorts of dramatic like them. You'd be perfect, Sofia. You ever thought about crossing over?"

Sofia laughed. "No."

"Well, shucks."

Sofia patted her friend's head and got off of her legs, stretching slightly and falling to sit on the floor. Bucky leaned against the sliding door with his arms crossed over his chest, facing all the girls.

"I was thinking we should go check out the Mayan ruins tomorrow. How does that sound?" Sofia offered, picking at the skin around her nails.

There were "ooh's" and "aah's" from each of them, Natasha wondering out loud if she would be able to climb them. Peggy shook her head with a roll of her eyes as Bucky chuckled under his breath.

Sofia clapped her hands together. "Yay! Okay, well I guess I'm gonna head up and go to sleep."

"You slept the entire flight over!" Natasha scoffed, looking at the brunette with furrowed brows.

She shrugged nonchalantly as she stood up from the floor. "We gotta wake up early. I might as well be the only responsible one around here."

"Oh, shut up!" Peggy and Natasha said in unison.

Bucky chuckled and locked eyes with Sofia who shot him a quick wink before disappearing into the hallway and slamming her bedroom door; it was always drama with her. 

"I saw that," Natasha sang and Peggy snorted, not looking away from her book.

Bucky stuttered a reply but Natasha waved him off, telling him that she wasn't stupid. He bit down on his lip trying to fight the blush that would soon play out on his face. He was in deep no matter how hard he tried to come up to the surface, there was no way he could. 

 


	10. The Kiss

The next morning Sofia woke up bright and early to get ready for the day. She had found a place to go eat breakfast and made calls to get a chauffeur out to the home to take them to the ruins and around the city. Peggy woke up soon after Sofia, immediately searching for coffee or tea; she didn't have a preference.

Of course, the house didn't have much of anything so Sofia grimaced at the sight of a grumpy Peggy make her way back to her room and slam the door. Sofia knew she would have to go and wake Natasha up since she loved to sleep in but today was not that day. 

The sliding door opened and Sofia jumped in her spot, getting ready to defend herself from the person coming into the house. She relaxed once Bucky came into sight. He was shirtless and sweaty; it was a sight she was starting to get used to.

"Sorry," he breathed out as he tried to catch his breath. "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't think you'd be awake already."

Sofia waved him off. "I should be used to you scaring me like that now."

Bucky apologized once again before disappearing down the hallway to take a shower. Meanwhile, Sofia walked to Natasha's room and jumped on her bed. The redhead didn't even flinch. It took many tries to finally get her to wake up and when she did, she threw a pillow at Sofia's head.

" _Andale_! Come on! Wake up!"

"5 more minutes," Natasha groaned, pulling the comforter up to her eyes. 

"No," Sofia huffed. "Come on, Nat! The car is getting here in an hour. You gotta wake up."

They argued for a couple of more minutes before Sofia ripped the covers off her body and Natasha jumped out of bed to chase her out of her room. Sofia ran out with a laugh, bumping into Peggy who seemed to have a better look on her face than she did earlier.

"We're going to eat before we go see the ruins, right?"

"Yes, Margaret." Sofia sang. "You can drink all the coffee or tea that you'd like."

Bucky came out of his room next looking dashing as ever. Sofia could feel the heat rise to her cheeks and ears. He was so good-looking that she wasn't sure if she could ever get used to it.

"Just waiting on Natasha," Peggy said loudly in hopes that she would hear her and hurry up. 

In the meantime, the three of them talked amongst each other about insignificant things. Natasha appeared about 20 minutes later, a loud honk echoing through the quiet house at the same time. 

They all walked out and hopped into the car after locking up the house, heading straight to the cafe. Sofia invited the driver to join them but he politely declined, saying that he had already eaten. She frowned but nodded, mentally reminding herself to give him a hefty tip. 

After they ate they headed to the Mayan ruins where everyone looked up at the pyramids in awe. They couldn't believe they were man-made let alone standing right in front of them. 

"Let's get a picture!" Peggy exclaimed, taking her phone out of her small purse. 

"Yeah," Sofia agreed. "Come here!"

Natasha got in between Sofia and Peggy but Bucky didn't move from his spot. 

"Bucky, come over here. What are you doing?"

Bucky grinned, shaking his head. "No, it's okay. I'll take the picture if you'd like."

"Oh, don't be a party pooper, Barnes!" Natasha called out, waving him over.

"Seriously," he nodded, stretching his hand out. "It's okay."

Peggy looked over at Sofia who in turn shrugged. She wasn't going to force him to do something he didn't want to do. If he wanted to stay behind the camera for whatever reason then so be it. Peggy reluctantly handed her phone over to Bucky who quickly positioned himself and began to take photos of them. After taking a handful they could choose from, they walked around some more and Natasha even got to climb one of them like she wished to do. 

They left a couple of hours later, hungry and tired. They stopped at a taco stand, the driver joining them this time, and stuffed themselves up. Back at the beach house, they all crashed in the common area as soon as they sat down/laid on the floor. 

When they woke up, it was already dark out and they were still tired from the walking and the heat. They all walked to their rooms, saying goodnight in unison and preparing themselves for the next day.

The week began to go by quick. They sometimes did activities together or sometimes they would split up. You could usually find Natasha tanning on the beach with Bucky watching from the porch even though there wasn't much to worry about. 

A couple of days later, Sofia sauntered past Bucky in a little red bikini that went great with her tanned skin. Bucky's eyes widened behind his dark frames and he swallowed hard, biting his lower lip. 

"You're drooling," Peggy called out from underneath her large brimmed hat, her eyes still reading the words on the book.

"I-I uh, no, I just—"

"You may fool Sofia but you don't fool me or Nat." She interrupted him, finally looking over at him and shaking her head. 

He sank lower in the beach chair, his eyes still following Sofia across the beach. How could he not? Her suit was alarmingly red. Bucky watched as she laid out her towel on the soft sand and kneel on it, talking to Natasha who was laying her back on her towel. 

Sofia reached up to grab the knot at the back of her neck and swiftly untied it in one motion. Bucky couldn't believe he was seeing this with his own two eyes. He felt like a high school boy all over again.

She let the thin, red straps fall forward as she held the suit in place with her hands. Sofia laid on her stomach, reaching back and untying the other knot. Peggy looked over at Bucky again, catching him in the same trance as before and chuckled to herself. 

That night Natasha suggested they go to a club. Sofia danced around the idea while Peggy said yes and Bucky shrugged, doing whatever Sofia wanted to do. It took some convincing but she eventually agreed, Natasha instantly jumping for joy. 

"I can't wait to dance my ass off tonight!" She bumped her hip with Sofia's making her laugh. 

"Okay, okay." Sofia threw her arm around Natasha's shoulder. "Don't get too crazy though."

"I should be telling you that," Natasha pursed her lips.

At around 8 PM they were all ready to head out to the club. Peggy wore a royal blue spaghetti strap dress that came up just a little bit above her knees with strappy black heels. Peggy's long brown hair was curled and her makeup was perfectly done. 

Natasha wore an army green dress similar to Peggy's, just a little bit shorter and nude wedges. Her red hair was straightened even though she knew it would curl as soon as she started to sweat thanks to the heat.

Sofia was the last one to appear. She wore a tight, black, strapless dress with black ankle strap heels. She put her hair in a half-up, half-down do and her makeup was simply done because she knew it would come off from the amount of dancing she would be doing.

Bucky complimented them all earning a roll of eyes from Natasha, a sincere thank you from Peggy and an awkward blush from Sofia. They all headed got into the cab, heading straight over to the club. It was already buzzing and they could tell that it was the most popular due to the number of people wanting to get in.

"Sofia, this is crazy!" Peggy held onto Sofia's arm.

Sofia looked over at her, a deviled smirk playing on her face. "I just gotta work my magic is all."

Natasha gagged, "Please don't ever say that again!"

They walked up straight to the bouncer, Sofia batting her fake long eyelashes at him. He seemed unphased about the pretty girl in front of him though and Sofia knew she was in for a hard one. 

"Just pay him," Peggy whispered in her ear when he ignored them.

"I'm not doing that!" Sofia whispered back harshly. 

"And I'm not waiting in that line!" Natasha whined, the three girls looking at how far back it stretched.

Bucky exhaled, pushing through Natasha and Sofia to stand in front of them. The girls had no idea what Bucky said or did but he was soon waving at them to follow him through. They all thanked the bouncer as they walked by him, only earning a grumble on his part.

Once inside, Sofia grabbed onto Bucky's shirt while Peggy grabbed onto her hand and Natasha grabbed onto Peggy's shoulder. Sofia announced that they were going to sit up at the VIP section and Natasha rolled her eyes. 

"Exactly how do you think you're going to get up there right now?" Natasha screamed over the music. "And don't tell me you're going to work your magic because it did shit outside!"

Sofia frowned. "Just wait." 

She let go of Bucky's shirt and walked up to the other bouncer that stood at the bottom of the stairs. They watched as she chatted him up and then a look of realization crossed his face. A couple of minutes later Sofia waved her friends over and thanked the bouncer with a hug and kiss on the cheek before climbing up the steps. 

They got the area closest to the railing, Sofia waving down a waiter to order drinks. Everyone except for Bucky ordered their drink and subtly danced to the music playing. Bucky held his breath as he looked around the place, spotting emergency exits and people doing illegal things in the dark corners.

The drinks were soon delivered and they all got to talking over the loud music as they finished their first drink before ordering a second one. As soon as they finished their second drink, the girls headed downstairs to the main dancefloor whereas Bucky stayed on the second level to keep an eye on them. Thank God for Natasha's bright red hair.

The girls began to sway to the music, dancing with each other and sometimes dancing with whoever they bumped into on the dance floor. Sofia could feel her thighs and calves burning from all the dancing she was doing but it was a good feeling. It made her feel alive. 

Bucky watched Sofia move on the dance floor with Peggy and Natasha, her hips swaying to the Latin music playing in the club and the colorful lights reflecting off the thin sheen of sweat that had begun to gather on her body. She was electrifying. She was untouchable to a fault.

Sofia, however, was so caught up in the music and dancing that she didn't see Bucky staring at her from up above. She pulled Natasha in close and they both danced on each other giggling slightly before Peggy came up behind Sofia and asked why she wasn't invited like all the guys would ask when they would go out, earning a boisterous laugh from Sofia.

"Oh my, God," Natasha squealed as she leaned her forehead against Sofia's. "Bucky is totally eyeing you from the second floor."

Sofia pulled away from Natasha and looked up to where Bucky was leaning against the railing, his hands intertwined as he stared. But once he made eye contact with her he quickly looked away.

"He needs a drink," Sofia said before moving out from between Peggy and Natasha and making her way up to the rafters.

She flagged down a bartender as soon as she got to the top and ordered two drinks, one for her and one for Bucky. She looked around the VIP area and found him sitting on the long black leather couch. Sofia took a deep breath and walked over to him, taking a seat a couple of inches away.

"Why aren't you down there dancing with us?" She leaned over and asked loudly over the blaring music.

Bucky looked over at Sofia and chuckled. "I wouldn't be doing my job if I was having fun."

"Oh, shut up!" She playfully slapped his shoulder. "I told you that you need to have fun! Coulson had fun when he would come along on vacations with us."

"That was Coulson, not me," Bucky grumbled.

Sofia frowned. "Will you at least have the drink I just ordered you? I really don't want to drink both."

The bartender made his way over and set both glasses in front of them, Sofia thanking them in Spanish and then looking back at Bucky. He shook his head but reached out anyway and grabbed the cup, taking a sip and nodding. Sofia smiled and inwardly cheered before taking her own glass and drinking a bit.

They both sat next to each other for the rest of their drink without saying another word. Sofia felt the bass of the music throughout her entire body and Bucky watched as she closed her eyes and swayed back and forth to it slightly.

"Bucky?" She asked and he sat up straighter eager to hear what she had to say.

"Yes?"

"You are having fun, right? Even if you're not out there with us dancing or swimming or whatever. You're still enjoying your time?" Sofia looked over at him and Bucky swallowed quickly.

"Yes, I'm enjoying my time here."

"You're just saying that because you know that's what I want to hear. I want you to be honest with me."

"I am being honest with you," he assured.

Bucky and Sofia weren't sure when their bodies moved closer together but they could both feel their breaths fanning across each other's faces. Sofia's brown eyes stared into his light blue ones. She hadn't ever felt this way about anyone and although she was afraid of what might come, she was ready for it. Life was a literal movie for her. She had played this scenario many times before, albeit a script worked wonders for said situations, Sofia believed she could pull something out of her ass if it failed.

"Miss. Gonzalez," Bucky whispered, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. God, she was beautiful. He knew from the moment he stepped into the office that he was going to fall for her no matter how hard he told himself not to.

And now here they were, chasing and pushing away emotions. They were avoiding them to keep the relationship professional, but there was no way to stop their beating hearts.

"I want to kiss you," Sofia leaned in closer to him, the tips of their noses brushing ever so slightly. She was sure her heart was going to jump out of her chest and fall into her lap.

Bucky swallowed hard. It took everything for him to not grab her face and kiss her hard, putting in all the emotion he had subdued for her into the kiss.

"Please," she begged.

He leaned in closer to her, his left hand coming to hold her waist and Sofia's hand to rest upon his stubbly jaw. Sofia's eyes fluttered shut as she tilted her chin up slightly and pressed her lips against his. Bucky was sure fireworks burst behind his eyelids.

She opened her mouth slightly and captured Bucky's bottom lip with her own. She started to shake. She was finally kissing Bucky and she couldn't believe it. His mouth began to move against hers, too. Bucky's other hand flew up to cup her cheek and run the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone.

Sofia could cry from this moment—real, actual tears. And they wouldn't be sad ones, no. They'd be happy tears. She believed she had finally found love.

She pulled away, eyes still closed and mouth slightly open, her lips a pretty shade of red that you could only get when you made out with someone.

"Miss. Gonzalez?"

"Sofia," she stated. "Call me Sofia, Bucky."

Bucky watched the tip of her tongue dart out from behind her lips before she took her bottom lip and bit down on it hard.

"You know we can't do this."

Sofia fell back, eyes darting to her thighs and then to the glass table on her left. Her jaw twitched and her thumbs began to twirl in her lap subconsciously. She had overstepped a line. Maybe she did read into it. Maybe it was her naiveness that believed that Bucky could even think of her in any other way than a client.

Bucky stared at her with sad eyes; this wasn't supposed to go like this. He was supposed to fall for her without a care in the world. Why did he have to be so guarded?

"I-I'm sorry," Sofia breathed in anxiously. Bucky could barely hear her over the music but he shook his head, wanting to explain to her that maybe if they were under a different circumstance.

Sofia locked eyes with Bucky once more but this time, she held her head high and a smile on her face that she had learned how to fake from all of her years in the business. She would not let Bucky see her down.

"Sof—"

"I was wrong," she chuckled, rolling her eyes. She stood up from the leather couch and pulled down her dress a bit. Bucky looked up at her, his mouth slightly open trying to find something to say but what was he going to say to her?

With one last look, Sofia turned on her heel and walked away from Bucky closing her eyes tightly to stop the tears from spilling and finding her best friends to try and forget about the obvious mistake she had made.

"What happened?" Natasha asked in her ear and Sofia laughed.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

 


	11. Aftermath

They all left the club some hours later. If Bucky was right, it was just about to be 4 AM. Natasha and Sofia were drunk out of their minds while Peggy had a little buzz going on and Bucky was way too sober for it all.

With the help of Peggy, Bucky caught a cab and got everyone in. Since the area was a popular tourist attraction, the driver spoke English but didn't let up until he realized Bucky was struggling to get across what he wanted to say.

The ride back to the house was interesting, to say the least. Sofia and Natasha were being extra loud thanks to the alcohol and were starting to undress in the backseat of the car complaining that it was too hot. Peggy tried her best to stop them but there was only so much she could do.

To their luck, the cab stopped right out front of the house before any clothes came off. Bucky paid the driver and thanked him, quickly adding an apology for the rowdiness that occurred the whole way there. 

Bucky watched the car drive away and headed inside where Natasha and Sofia were arguing about something and Peggy stood there with furrowed brows. 

"Enough!" Peggy exclaimed, the girls stopping mid-argument and looking over at Peggy. "Go to your rooms, now. Jesus Christ, it's like I'm a mother."

The redhead and tanned brunette rolled their eyes before stomping away and slamming their doors but not before one opened up and another slammed, the sound of dry heaving echoing throughout the house.

Bucky and Peggy looked at each other, waiting for whoever it was to finish their session over the toilet and go back to their room. Once they heard the toilet flush, the sink run and doors open and close they let out a breath. Peggy ran a hand through her long hair and Bucky walked over to the kitchen looking for a cup to serve himself water. Ever since the kiss, his mouth had been uncomfortably dry.

"You okay there, Barnes?" Peggy chuckled, walking up to him and stealing the jug of water from his hands to serve herself some.

"Fine," he mumbled before bringing the cup up to his lips and drinking it all in one go.

It was quiet between them after his reply. Even though he and Peggy got along just fine, he couldn't find anything to say. It wasn't his place to spill to her. At least he didn't think it was. 

"Did you have a fun night?"

Bucky hummed, placing his cup in the kitchen sink and leaned against the counter. Peggy eyed him, frowning a bit but shrugging anyway. She would ask him what happened when Sofia went up to the VIP section but Sofia had told them nothing happened. Bucky, on the other hand, looked like he was torn in two and he hadn't left the VIP section all night.

"Come on," she nodded towards the hallway.

Bucky licked his lip and pushed himself off the counter, following Peggy down the hall and walking into his room. To his surprise, Peggy followed him, flipping the lights on behind her. He turned his head to look at her, confused as to why she was standing in his room. 

Peggy sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Why do you seem down? Are you okay?"

"I don't know," he grumbled.

"Does it have to do with Sofia?" She whispered.

Bucky swallowed hard. He had real feelings for her. They were feelings that he hadn't felt for anyone in years. And if he didn't tell someone he was going to go crazy.

"Peggy, I think I'm in love with her." Bucky blurted.

She sighed again and leaned against the small chest of drawers that was up against the cream-colored wall. Peggy crossed her arms over her chest and opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Bucky only regretted admitting his feelings even more as he watched Peggy's face search for the right words to say. What was there to say?

"Are you sure?"

Bucky looked her dead in the eye. "I'm in love with Sofia, dammit. I would give my life for her in a life or death situation, Carter. That's how much I fucking love her."

Peggy bit down on her lip and nodded slowly. Bucky was really, truly in love with Sofia. He had just admitted that he would die for her as if it was some Shakespearean play. Sofia would probably be proud.

"Please don't tell her," Bucky begged. "I'll tell her myself when I'm ready."

Peggy's lips turned into a small smile. "Don't hurt her, Barnes. Or I'll have to hurt you with my own two hands."

Bucky let out a sigh of relief, falling back onto the unfamiliar bed and closing his eyes with a grin. He heard Peggy say goodnight and shut his door. He laughed to himself, throwing his arm over his eyes and wondering how the hell he was going to make this workout.

The rest of the vacation Sofia ignored Bucky and Bucky did the same. Sofia ignored him because she felt hurt and was mostly upset with herself for thinking that Bucky could even have feelings for her while Bucky chose to not pay attention to her because he was still trying to sort out his avalanche of feelings.

Monday morning came by and they were all on their way back to Los Angeles. On the way back home, Natasha sat next to Bucky while Sofia sat with Peggy. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost tangible. Not even landing back on US land could ease it. 

Natasha and Peggy quickly disappeared as soon as they got their bags leaving Bucky and Sofia to fend for their own. Bucky found their driver a couple of steps away from the baggage claim area, nodding Sofia over.

The car ride home was the same as the plane ride. There was absolute silence. Bucky still helped Sofia bring her bags into the house but as soon as the front door closed Bucky disappeared into his room leaving Sofia feeling ashamed and broken-hearted. 

What she didn't know was that Bucky felt the same way. It was eating him up that he couldn't just put his job to the side and jump into what could possibly be the greatest fall of his life. But he just couldn't do it.

Sofia looked down the dark hallway that led to his room, hoping that just like all the movies she had starred in, Bucky would run out and declare his undying love for her. Deep, deep down she knew that it wouldn't happen. She was being ridiculous now.

She eyed her bags sitting at the bottom of the staircase deciding to get them after a much-needed nap. As soon as her head hit the fluffy pillow behind her she was out like a light.

She dreamt about better things; life in her sleep seemed to be entirely preferable than real life. But then a dark and blurry scenario began to play out behind her closed eyes. Sofia could feel her heart racing and her body thrashing violently against the mattress but she couldn't wake up. 

As soon as her ears began to ring her eyes shot open and her body jolted upright. Sofia grabbed her chest trying to catch her breath as well as wrap her head around what just happened but she couldn't even see what happened in her dream. 

Once she calmed herself down, she looked out the large window behind her and saw the sun setting. She called her mom and let her know she was back home and they talked like they used to back when Sofia was starting out in the business. Sofia felt this heaviness surround her but it wasn't over what happened with Bucky in Cancun. It was something else and it creeped her out a bit. Something was wrong.

After hanging up with her mother she walked downstairs and made herself quesadillas ( _her favorite_ ) and watched a bit of television. She landed on E! News at one point during her channel surfing, Kristin dos Santos was talking about an incident that happened with an old co-star of Sofia's. 

Maria Hill had been attacked right outside a restaurant by an unknown perpetrator. Nothing major happened but Sofia still felt a sense of nervousness fill her being. She made sure to text Maria once she was near her phone and ask her how she was doing. For now, she tried to take her mind off of her worrying thoughts with a funny movie but she still felt uneasy. 

After the movie, she went back upstairs and fell asleep after tossing and turning due to the many thoughts that filled her head. When she closed her eyes and began to drift off, she hoped and prayed that all of her anxiousness would disappear.

 


	12. Award Show

Work picked up for Sofia right after coming back home from Mexico. She began to film a television show on the Warner Brother's lot 5 out of 7 days a week for about 12 hours a day, if not more. On weekends, she was off to events or holed up in her room reading all of the different scripts that were sent to her. 

The situation with Bucky didn't get any better. There was no time to sit and talk to about what had happened. Whenever she had free time he was busy and vice versa. She just wanted to talk to Bucky like she used to-no feelings involved. 

"Are you sitting down?" Peggy exclaimed, jumping on the other end of the line.

"Yes," Sofia chuckled, holding the phone in the air since it was on speaker.

Award season was about to start up; the Golden Globes was the first show up. Sofia had filmed a movie the year before that was in talks for award season but she wasn't so sure about it so she didn't pay much attention to the talk about it.

Sofia locked eyes with Bucky who was sitting on the couch across from her sending him a small smile. He smiled back and she felt warm inside. That was a start; maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought it was.

"Spit it out!" Natasha cried, impatient as ever trying to grab the iPhone out of Sofia's hands.

"YOU'RE NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTRESS AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES!"

Sofia's mouth fell open and her body buzzed frantically. Although she had been in the business for a while she had never been nominated for such a prestigious award. Natasha whooped and Bucky smiled from ear to ear, clapping loudly for her. Sofia's eyes watered as she heard her name being repeated on the other line.

"She's alive!" Natasha grabbed the phone out of her friend's hand. "I think she's just in shock. She hasn't moved in a minute. Should I kick her in the shin?"

Sofia snapped out of her trance and raised a brow at the redhead who smirked at her. "Don't you think about it!"

They all celebrated some more, wishing out loud that Peggy wasn't stuck in an office in the middle of Los Angeles so that they could all go out and get a drink after Sofia wrapped up the day at the lot. But Peggy promised that on Friday night they would go out and have a nice dinner.

Sofia held her to the promise and once she hung up, Sofia finally let out an ear-shattering squeal she had been holding in for the past couple of minutes. Natasha threw her arms around the brunette, congratulating her yet again and telling her how proud she was of her and that she was definitely going to win it.

"I'm up against Meryl Streep though!" Sofia cried, her hands already shaking at the thought of it.

"So?" Natasha pulled away, placing a hand on her hip. "I think she's won enough times. Sharing is caring."

"Nat!" Sofia laughed, shaking her head at the redhead.

"Bucky," Natasha started, turning on her heel to face the man. "You're about to be a Golden Globe winner's bodyguard. How do you feel?"

"Oh my, God!" Sofia stood up from the makeup chair and threw her arm around Natasha's shoulders. "Cut it out. You're making me more nervous than I should be."

The filming of Sofia's TV show came to a quick break over the holidays and wouldn't pick up again until after New Years'. Then, a couple of days later she would be off to the Golden Globes as a nominee. The days leading up to it were nerve-wracking as she was pulled back and forth to different types of events for awards.

Bucky, Natasha, and Peggy tagged along of course. There was no way Sofia wasn't going to go without them. They took pictures, drank alcohol, and ate fancy food at every event they went to. They were having fun; Sofia and Bucky were slowly but surely getting comfortable with each other a bit more every day.

When the long and awaited day finally came around, Sofia woke up bright and early to get ready for the night. In came all the  _Versace_  dresses she was having a hard time choosing between along with her hairdresser and makeup stylist. While they worked on her hair and makeup, she debated between a red gown and a soft pink one. In the end, she chose a floor-length soft pink dress. It hugged all of her curves perfectly and contrasted against her tan skin in the most gorgeous way. Her dark hair was in curled into old Hollywood waves and her makeup was done to a T, her eyes the perfect amount of smokey with the pinks and browns they decided to use. 

"I could cry!" Peggy looked Sofia up and down, holding a hand up to her cheek. "You look beautiful, Sof."

"I'd totally do you," Natasha shrugged nonchalantly, earning a laugh from Sofia.

"You guys!" Sofia opened her arms for them to run into, enveloping them in a very tight hug. "I love you two so damn much. I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

There was a knock on the door and all three women pulled away from each other to find Bucky standing there in a rented tuxedo. He looked as handsome as ever. Sofia would have asked him to be her date if she had the guts.

"Look at you!" Peggy exclaimed making Bucky blush a million different shades of pinks and reds.

"I'd totally do you, too." Natasha teased and Sofia shook her head.

"Miss. Gonzalez," Bucky sighed as his eyes took her in. She looked like a princess.

"Yes?"

"Ready to go?"

Sofia felt her heart drop that he didn't compliment her but what did she expect? He obviously didn't like her like that. She needed to get over it already.

"Yeah," Sofia swallowed.

Bucky nodded and soon disappeared leaving the girls alone again. Natasha raised a brow at Sofia and Peggy bit down on her lip. The redhead asked what had just happened and Peggy shrugged. 

"Bucky and I kissed in Cancun." Sofia finally confessed. Peggy looked down at the floor and Natasha's eyes widened. Sofia looked away from them and cleared her throat. "But it was nothing. He didn't like... he said we shouldn't do that... probably ever."

"Please!" Natasha rolled her eyes. "If he wasn't your bodyguard I'm sure he would've fucked you right there on that nasty couch. Are you that oblivious, Sofia?"

Sofia furrowed her brows and Peggy shrugged, agreeing with Natasha. "She has a point. Bucky is head over heels for you."

"He's not," Sofia sighed and the two women shook their heads in defeat. It wasn't their place to tell her how Bucky felt. 

There wasn't any more talk about Bucky as they helped Sofia gather the last of her things, making sure everything she needed was in her clutch. Natasha headed downstairs first and raised a brow at Bucky, shaking her head and walking past him to go out to one of the waiting SUVs. Bucky blinked, confused as to why Natasha gave him that look but brushed it off anyway.

Peggy and Sofia came down the stairs next, Bucky walking over to the end of the staircase and holding a handout for Sofia to take before she took the final step. She took it in hers and let out a breath once she was finally on the marble floor in one piece.

"I'll see you outside," Peggy smiled before disappearing leaving Sofia and Bucky alone for the first time in a while. 

Sofia's hand was still in Bucky's; Neither of them didn't want to let go. It felt right. It would always feel right.

Sofia cleared her throat, looking out the open doors right before Bucky looked down at her, smiling slightly. "You look beautiful."

She felt the heat crawl up her neck to her ears and then cheeks. She let go of his hand and cleared her throat as she looked out the open doors. If she looked at him, she'd kiss him again. "Thank you."

Bucky nodded politely before helping her out of the house. After closing the door behind him, he met up with her in the car sliding into the seat next to her. The drive over wasn't too bad; Sofia replied to a bunch of text messages and emails from family members, friends, and co-stars while Bucky messaged Steve back and forth.

He had called Steve a couple of days after coming back from Mexico and told him everything that had happened. Although Steve didn't like it when his employees began to develop feelings for their clients, Bucky's case made him happy. Bucky hadn't been with anyone in years if he remembered right. Mostly because he was off protecting the President of the United States. Steve, being the best friend that he was, encouraged him to let go. He told Bucky to let himself feel for once; he needed to stop bottling it all up inside. Sofia was a good constant for him.

The car came to a stop sometime later and the door was quickly opened, one of the red carpet assistants popping her head to see the backseat and waved. "Come on."

Bucky got out and helped Sofia as she slid across the black leather seat. She straightened out her dress while Bucky held her clutch. Peggy and Natasha came up right behind them, the red carpet assistant talking into her headset and pushing them through their specified entrance. 

"I'm so nervous," Sofia's teeth chattered as she tried to shake away her nerves.

"Don't be! You'll be okay!" Peggy pushed her out into the flashing lights as the three of them watched from the side and followed through as she made her way down the carpet and took more pictures.

"You really gonna let her go?" Natasha asked Bucky and his eyes narrowed at the small redhead at his side. 

"What are you talking about?"

"You obviously have feelings for her and so does she. Why are you being such a pu—"

"Natasha, not here!" Peggy exclaimed ready to pull Natasha's hair out. 

She sent her off to Sofia who was starting to get pulled back and forth for interviews. Bucky kept an eye on her as they stood a couple of feet away, his heart beating really fast. Natasha and Peggy now knew. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do now.

"How does she know?"

"Sofia told us."

Bucky nodded, swallowing hard as he watched her laugh and talk to someone from  _E!_. He was madly in love with her and he believed that he would tell her that he loved her tonight after the show. He had to. He was going to go crazy if he held it any longer. 

The carpet seemed endless and so did the show. Sofia, of course, sat in the main room at a table with the cast of her movie along with a couple of other actors. Peggy, Natasha, and Bucky watched from behind the stage in a big room with other celebrities and their people.

About halfway through the show, Sofia's category was announced. Sofia held in a breath as they announced the names of the women she was up against and so did her friends backstage. The opening of the envelope couldn't have been any slower, but when they finally announced the name Sofia let out the breath she was sure everyone around her heard. She stood up with shaky hands and legs as her costars clapped and cheered for her. 

Peggy, Natasha, and Bucky whooped for her like crazy people, tearing up at the sight of her on stage holding the prestigious award and trying to recollect herself to give a speech. They didn't even realize they were holding each other while she spoke so eloquently about winning the award and how thankful she was.

After saying thank you once last time, she walked off the stage with the presenters and was ushered to go get her picture taken and do quick press. Bucky, Peggy, and Natasha didn't see Sofia until after the show where they enveloped Sofia in a congratulatory group hug.

"I told you you'd win over Meryl!" Natasha kissed her friend's cheek loudly as they all pulled away. 

"Oh my, God!" Sofia squealed, her hands were still shaking. "I'm so happy. I didn't think I'd ever... oh my, God!"

"Believe it," Peggy smiled from ear to ear. "You deserve it."

"I love you!" Sofia pouted before throwing her arms around her and squeezing Peggy tight. "I'll see you at the after-party, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am! Can't wait to dance all night."

Sofia gave the girls one last hug before they went to go get in their car and head over to the after-party. Bucky looked at Sofia and grinned. She smiled back, holding her award up to his face.

"I can't believe I won!"

"I can," he replied, licking his lips. "You're a pretty damn good actress."

"You think so?" She raised a brow.

"I know so."

She smiled at him once again before leading the way out to the street where the paparazzi were lined up. Bucky quickly sprinted to her side, not standing behind or in front of her this time. Sofia smiled and waved at the photographers, Bucky looking at her with pure adoration in his eyes before looking at the car that was a couple of feet away, ready to take them to the after-party. 

But in a matter of seconds, Bucky heard a loud popping noise, the award falling to the floor with a loud clang and then absolutely nothing.

 


	13. Sofia

_Slow-motion._

Everything began to happen in slow-motion from the second he heard the pop. But he didn't feel anything. There wasn't a rush that surged through his body or heat where the bullet would have gone through.

Bucky felt absolutely nothing at all. 

Until he looked to his left and spotted Sofia with a hand on her chest. He watched her eyes widen and her mouth open slightly, a choked whimper coming out. His eyes trailed down to her hand again, the sudden flash of lights from the photographers illuminating the crimson color that was soaking through her pretty pale pink dress.

Sofia had been shot.

"Baby," Bucky whispered loud enough so that only she could hear him. His blood began to pump harder and faster through his veins. His mind was racing a hundred miles per hour. "Oh my, God. Sofia, please just hold on, okay? We're gonna get you to the hospital." 

Sofia locked eyes with him as he quickly took his phone out of his jacket pocket and fumbled with the screen a bit before giving all the information to whom she assumed was a dispatcher. She had seen the shooter before Bucky did. She saw him point the gun, not caring who he hit but Sofia knew it would've struck Bucky so she took the step and the bullet.

Bucky removed Sofia's hand from her chest as soon as he hung up with the first responders and watched as more blood seeped out from the wound. Bucky quickly shook off his suit jacket and balled it up as much as he could before pressing against her chest eliciting a painful groan out of her.

"They're on their way," he said. "Stay with me."

Bucky's index and middle finger came behind Sofia's ear, pressing against the skin, taking her heartbeat. It was starting to slow. "Why'd you do that, Sof?"

"You were looking away," she took in a big breath, "This would've been you." Another breath, "I couldn't let that happen."

Sofia coughed and Bucky watched her eyes flutter shut, her head lolling back. He looked down at his suit jacket and realized that it was soaked in her blood. He mumbled to himself, mostly to try and stay calm in the current situation. Bucky looked out to the street and spotted the red and white flashing lights making its way towards them. Bucky brushed Sofia's hair away from her face, accidentally getting blood on her cheekbone while doing so. He could cry if he wanted to but he had to hold it together. 

"Hey," he tapped her cheek gently. Her eyes opened slightly and she hummed in response. "The ambulance is almost here. Can you hear them?"

Sofia didn't answer. Bucky looked up at the ambulance and hoped that it was for them and no one else. They parked right behind their waiting car, EMT's jumping out ready to start helping in every way they could.

Bucky felt his heart rip in half when they took her out of his arms and placed her on the stretcher. They cut open her dress and if it wasn't for Sofia being so close to death, Bucky would have laughed just thinking about her throwing a fit over them cutting open her borrowed gown. But if things worked out, he'd laugh about it later. Right now, all he could think of was Sofia and her well-being.

"Will you be riding with her?" One of the EMTs asked obviously in a hurry. 

"Y-Yes!" Bucky stuttered, getting up from the ground and jogging over to the ambulance and hopping inside. 

As soon as they closed the vehicle doors it sped off to the nearest hospital. Bucky's eyes never tore away from Sofia's body, hoping that his best girl would get through this; she had to get through it. 

"Slow heart rate and losing lots of blood," one of them said as they placed an oxygen mask over Sofia's mouth and nose. "If we don't get her to the hospital soon, we're gonna lose her."

"Come on, Sofia." One of the other EMT's murmured, "Stay with us for a couple of more minutes, kid."

The ambulance came to a sudden halt, the doors opening at the same time it stopped. Sofia was carried out of the vehicle in a matter of seconds straight into the hospital. Bucky ran out after them only to come to his own stop once she disappeared through a set of doors he wasn't allowed to go through. 

He watched through the small window on the doors as nurses and doctors rushed by her side taking her into another room. He was alone, staring at nothing now. He was frozen.

"Bucky!" Peggy's English accent rang through the busy hospital as she ran in through the sliding doors with Natasha trailing behind her.

His whole body felt heavy. Turning his head was harder than usual. He knew what was coming.

"Bucky!" A hand landed on his shoulder, spinning him around. Both women let out a horrified gasp at the sight of all the blood on Bucky. He hadn't even noticed it.

Peggy's eyes trailed up and down his body once more before asking the important question of the night. "How did you let this happen?"

"I don't know..."

"What do you mean you don't know? What the hell? You were supposed to be looking out for her! Why is she in their right now instead of you?"

Bucky felt the same pain in his chest again. Yes, it should've been him. Peggy was right. But Sofia wanted to play the superhero tonight. He couldn't change that fact.

"Carter, you know damn well I do my job down to a T! Sofia said she spotted him when she turned around. She saw him! I was by her side when I heard it." He paused as the gunshot played in his head all over again. "I didn't... I didn't know, okay! And if this is where you want to tell me I'm fired—fine. I'll fucking leave." His nostrils flared, eyes challenging Peggy's hard ones while Natasha watched in shock.

"But don't you ever forget that I told you I would give my life for her. I would've done it then, I would've done it now, and even down the line. I love her so much. Don't you think I'd rather be in her shoes right now?"

Peggy stared at him, her nostrils flaring from how hard she was breathing. Emotions were at an all-time high. No one knew what to do or how to react. Was there a way to properly react to something like this? She knew how much Bucky loved Sofia. Bucky's love for Sofia was so genuine, she was sure he would've taken the bullet for her if he had seen the shooter first.

"I'm not gonna fire you, Barnes. Jesus—" she pinched the bridge of her nose, "—I know how much she means to you. I'm trying to wrap my head around this, is all. I'm sorry for coming at you like that."

That's when Bucky felt it. He finally let his guard down. The tears spilled out of his eyes, reminiscent of the day when he found out about his family being killed. His body shook as he sobbed loudly, the girls walking up to him and wrapping their arms around him tight. 

"I'm so scared," he admitted to them mid-sob.

"We are, too," Natasha whispered, her hand rubbing his back.

"She's going to get through this," Peggy stated, always the positive member of the group. "I know she will."

 


	14. Waiting

Bucky, Peggy, and Natasha sat in the waiting room waiting patiently. Peggy had bought Bucky a tourist shirt from the hospital gift store that he quickly changed in to. He threw away his bloodied shirt in a sterile trash bin, wishing that just like his shirt he could throw away everything that had happened in the last couple of hours.

He was sad. He was upset. He was anxious. 

Bucky was suddenly sick to his stomach at the sudden replay of the prior events in his head. There was so much blood. Sofia was practically dying in his arms and dammit, there wasn't anything he could do about it. It should've been him.

Sofia's parents burst through the electric sliding doors snapping him out of his thoughts. Her mother was in hysterics and her father held an angry look on his face. Maria couldn't even look at Bucky without sobbing harder than she already was. But even then she still wrapped her arms around him as soon as he stood up from the uncomfortable chair. Bucky returned the hug, rubbing her back softly and silently wishing that he could make it all better.

Miguel stared hard at Bucky. He knew what was coming as soon as he let go of Maria. He had made a promise that he would always take care of Sofia. Maria sobbed into Bucky's chest and he felt his heartbreak even more if it was even possible.

"Bucky, why," she cried, " _Mi niña!_ "

"What the hell?" Miguel walked up to both of them, pointing his finger at Bucky. "You're the one that's supposed to be on his deathbed, not Sofia!"

Bucky let go of Maria looking Miguel straight in the eye. "I'm sorry. I know that's not enough to make all of this any better but I'm truly sorry. I wish you knew how much this hurts me—how much I would prefer to be in Sofia's position right now."

" _No digas eso._ " Maria wiped at her eyes. "No one deserves to be in Sofia's position, not even you." She reached out to grab his hand to squeeze it tightly.

Miguel still glowered from his spot and Maria cried softly. Bucky could not feel any worse that was for sure. Peggy and Natasha stood up from their spots a couple of seconds later and greeted both parents with teary eyes. It had been about 2 hours since Bucky and Peggy had gotten to the hospital and hadn't heard of anything. 

"Do you want anything to drink? Coffee, water, soda? I can go and get it." Peggy offered while Natasha nodded at her side.

Maria and Miguel both shook their heads in unison. Maria let Peggy know that they were alright for the moment being; maybe they would go and get something later. Everyone sat down again and played the waiting game. Bucky could hear the clock ticking along with his own heartbeat. He was growing tired, but he had to will himself to stay awake. 

Another hour passed but this time Sofia's name was called out. All four people waiting for her stood up at the same time, expectant and hopeful looks on their faces. The doctor grinned at them and they all sighed.

"How's my daughter?" Miguel asked, not beating around the bush.

"Sofia is fine."

Everyone let out another sigh of relief. Bucky felt the pain in his heart subside slightly. The doctor went on about everything that they had to do to her in the operating room, but Bucky only repeated to himself that she was okay. 

"She will be staying here for a couple of days," the doctor informed. "Just because she did go through a lot of trauma and is in a lot of pain."

"Can we see her?" Maria asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"Not yet," the doctor replied. "As soon as we get her all settled into a room I'll have a nurse come and get you all." Everyone nodded and the doctor gave them one last hopeful smile. "Everything's going to be fine. She's okay now."

Maria and Miguel hugged each other tightly, Bucky and Natasha sat back down on the chairs while Peggy let out a long sigh.

"I'm going to go get coffee," Peggy announced. "Anyone want anything?"

Natasha stood up and said something about getting a snack. Bucky shook his head and so did Maria. Miguel looked at both Bucky and Maria before offering to accompany his daughter's best friends to the cafe, leaving Bucky and Maria alone.

Maria sat down next to Bucky and grabbed his hand that was holding onto the wooden arm of the chair. She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles in a soft, motherly way while keeping quiet.

"Sofia is fine, Bucky.  _Todo esta bien_ ," She assured him a moment later. Everyone was shaken up, sure, but Bucky had been there at that moment. He had heard, seen, and felt every single thing.

The shock disappeared slowly and a sense of sadness washed over him yet again. 'What if's' filled his brain:  _What if Sofia hadn't made it out? What if the bullet had struck her somewhere else?_  What if, what if, what if.

His heart burst inside of him and his eyes filled up with tears, a strangled sob escaping his mouth for the second time that night. Maria let go of his hand and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him in close to her and holding him tight. Bucky cried hard staining her shirt with tears.

" _Mi niño,_ " she cooed. "Breathe, please."

He tried to gather himself but he couldn't. His head was starting to hurt and his eyes were burning. Bucky didn't know he could cry this much. He wondered if the tears would ever stop.

"I'm sorry," he cried.

"You don't have to apologize," she said softly. Bucky began to wonder if Maria was a saint. There was no way someone could forgive a person for almost having their daughter killed. "Everything's fine now. Do you hear me? This isn't your fault, James.  _Aveces pasan cosas que no podemos controlar._  I know you'd do it differently if you had the chance."

Bucky looked up at her and his bottom lip quivered. She smiled at him and wiped away his tears, reminding him of his mother. He looked down at his lap and sighed again for the millionth time.

" _La amas, verdad?_ "

Bucky looked up at her and swallowed. He understood that. He understood what she said because Sofia had taught him a bit of Spanish and he had picked up on some words here and there on his own.

_You love her, right?_

He nodded slowly eyes widening as he tried to figure out how she would even know. Sofia did mention once that moms were secretly witches (as a joke).

"Moms know everything." Maria winked. "I can tell by the way you're reacting to all of this. You're not just her bodyguard; you don't just see Sofia as your client. You love her—a lot. You love Sofia for the person she is. You see a future with her."

Bucky hiccuped. He slowly nodded at her and she smiled at him. "And she loves you, too. More than you know, Bucky. You make her happy. I see glimpses of the little girl I used to know."

He spotted Miguel, Peggy, and Natasha out of the corner of his eye and cleared his throat, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.

"I got you water, Barnes." Peggy held out her hand. He took it and thanked her softly. As soon as he cracked open the bottle a nurse appeared in front of them with a soft smile on her face.

She was there to take them all to Sofia's room that would belong to her for the next week or so. Bucky shakily stood up from his chair and Maria held out her hand. He grabbed it without a second thought and they all made their way to the elevator that would take them up to the 5th floor.

Once on the floor, Bucky felt his nerves ease slightly but not entirely. His feet felt heavy along with his heart. He was buzzing due to a surge of emotions.

They came to her door and the nurse turned on her heel to explain that Sofia was asleep due to all the pain medication she was on. Everyone nodded and with that, she opened the door. 

Peggy walked in first, then Miguel followed by Natasha, Maria, and Bucky. Bucky gulped loudly as he saw the low light hover over Sofia's bed. The beeping from her monitor was steady which meant that everything was fine—just like the doctor and nurse had assured them. She was in a white gown, covered in the typical hospital white blankets. Bucky was sure she would make Peggy go and get her favorite blanket from home when she was awake and feeling better.

Peggy didn't get too close. She stood at the front of the room by the television, her hands intertwined in front of her. She was happy her best friend was okay but it still killed her seeing her hooked up to all the machines. 

Natasha stood off in the corner of the room, arms crossed over her chest and her bottom lip between her teeth. Her foot tapped against the linoleum floor due to the nerves that filled her body as she took in the sight of Sofia. She didn't know what she would do without her.

Miguel walked up to Sofia's left side of her bed and brushed away a strand of hair that crossed her face. He cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone. Maria walked up next to Miguel, taking her daughter's hand and squeezing it lightly. Bucky preferred to watch from afar mostly for his own sake.

He had to keep repeating to himself that Sofia was fine. Sofia was going to wake up. She was going to get through this.

"Bucky,  _mijo_ what are you doing standing over there?" Maria asked softly.

She waved him over and his feet moved against Bucky's will. He sniffled slightly, rubbing his eyes again with the back of his hands. Once at the right side of her bed, he crouched down next to it and took her hand in his. He softly rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. Her hand was cold. All Bucky wanted to do was bring it up to his mouth and blow warm air against it.

"I'm going to go and make some phone calls," Peggy cleared her throat. "I'll be back." She excused herself and stepped out of the room with Natasha following suit.

It was silent again, just the machines beeping and the sound of the AC whirring above. They all stayed by her side, staring and holding her until a nurse came in to check on them. She made sure that they didn't need anything before taking a step out. Miguel cleared his throat and announced that he would go and make some phone calls to the immediate family to let them know she was fine. Maria offered to go with him, sending a small smile to Bucky.

Once her parents were out of the room, he brought Sofia's knuckles up to his lips and pressed soft kisses to her skin over and over again.

"I love you, Sofia."

—

Sofia wished she could perfectly describe what happened to her the second she lost consciousness. But all she could remember was seeing bright, white light and some pivotal memories flash before her eyes. Then, she felt nothing at all—kind of like she was floating in the air. But she wasn't scared. She felt calm for once.

 _Maybe this is what death feels like,_  she thought to herself as she felt and heard the commotion from what felt like miles and miles away. It was almost as if she had transcended to another plane of existence. But she wasn't dead. That much she knew.

Sofia was at peace; she finally felt like she was in a place where she belonged.

The sun was warm on her skin and the small ocean waves grazed against her bare feet. She was wearing a white sundress and her hair fell in loose waves. She took in a deep breath and tilted her head up, closing her eyes and taking in the feeling. But then she felt a pain in her chest. It wasn't where the bullet had gone through. No, this was her heart that was hurting. She opened her eyes and looked out into the water, the sun creating a glow above it. That's when she heard it.

" _I love you, Sofia._ "

She felt like the wind was knocked out of her. She fell to the floor and grabbed at the sand with both hands, the water coming up to wet her dress and her tears wetting her face.

Bucky.

Sofia gasped for air, almost as if she was drowning and had no way out of the water. A shiver quickly went through her body and her eyes shot open. There was no ocean or glowing sun anymore. Instead, a large, flat-screen TV was mounted in front of her, the room she was in lightly lit. She slowly looked over to her left and swallowed hard.

She licked her lips, every single part of her body hurting like never before. She looked at the clock and read the time to herself. It was the middle of the night; 2 AM to be exact.

Her eyes focused on the figure in the chair and when she realized that it was Bucky her heart skipped a beat. He was sleeping in a chair, resting his head on his shoulder while his hands were stuck inside his hoodie. She noticed that he was scruffy. Sofia wondered how long she had been out.

She reached for the remote control and pressed a button that called the nurse. As soon as she pressed it, a nurse walked in with a small grin on her face. Sofia tried to smile back but even her face hurt.

"Hi, Sofia," the nurse whispered. "I'm just going to check a few things before I get you water, okay?"

Sofia swallowed again and nodded as she watched her check the IV bag and adjust the pulse oximeter on her index finger. She pressed a couple of buttons on the heart monitor before quickly excusing herself to get Sofia a cup of water.  Sofia looked over at Bucky again, wanting to call out to him but her mouth and throat were so dry she was sure it would only come out as a rasp.

The nurse stepped into the room again, a styrofoam cup in each hand. She pulled up a small table and set one on it. She handed the other one to Sofia who gladly took it and drank it all in one gulp. 

The nurse handed the other cup to her with a small laugh, telling her she came prepared as most patients, although hydrated by the fluids in the IV are still very thirsty after waking up. She let her know that a doctor would come in and check on her soon before leaving the room again.

Sofia swallowed hard and blinked, trying to relax into the bed as much as she could. She looked over at Bucky again but this time an idea sparked in her head. She grabbed one of the empty styrofoam cups and aimed it at Bucky's head, tossing it and getting him right on the cheek. 

Bucky woke up with a small jolt, eyes fluttering open and a groan escaping his lips after straightening out. He looked over at Sofia and his heart skipped a beat. She was looking at him with her wide brown eyes, lips parted slightly.

"So-Sofia?"

 


	15. I Love You

The heart monitor began to beep quicker as Bucky jumped out of the uncomfortable chair, crossing the room in one large step and sitting on the edge of her bed, his cold hands coming in contact with her warm face.

"Sof," he sighed happily. "You're awake. I'm not dreaming, right? Oh, my God. Baby." His voice went up a pitch at the end.

Sofia choked out a laugh making Bucky's eyes well up with tears. It had been a couple of days since the incident and he didn't even realize how much he missed the sound of her. 

She opened her mouth, a gravelly voice coming out. "Hi, Barnes."

In a split second, he had dipped forward and captured her lips in his for a longing, soft kiss. It was so overdue. His tears softly splashed against her cheeks as Sofia reached up and locked her fingers in his hair pulling him closer. Bucky pulled away first, his eyes still shut and the tip of his nose red. Sofia watched as his eyes opened slowly and his bottom lip quiver.

"Baby, don't cry," she cooed softly. "I'm here now."

"I really thought I was going to lose you. I'm going to be stuck in therapy forever," he joked.

"So will I," Sofia retorted.

There was a soft knock on the door making Bucky jump up from the bed and Sofia's head turn to see who it was. It was just the doctor and they both sighed in relief. Bucky looked down at Sofia and grinned, letting her know that he'd be outside if she needed anything. 

He pulled his phone out, sending Peggy and Natasha a text that Sofia was awake now. He called Maria, not wanting to wait 4 more hours to give her the amazing news. The sound of happy cries on the other end of the line made Bucky cry, too. 

"She's all yours," the doctor announced as he stepped out of her room. 

Bucky nodded at him and walked back inside to find Sofia with her eyes closed. But they shot open when she heard Bucky's shuffling in the room. She grinned at him and nodded. 

"Come here," she said, scooting over slightly so he could sit next to her.

He walked over and took a seat on the bed, one leg on the bed and the other on the floor to hold himself up. Sofia leaned her head against Bucky's shoulder and he draped his arm around her shoulders. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, neither of them realizing that they had fallen asleep in each other's arms until Miguel and Maria showed up.

Miguel's loud "ahem" woke Bucky up which in turn woke Sofia up. In the past couple of days, Miguel and Bucky had bonded. Bucky listened to him as he spilled everything he believed he had done wrong for Sofia to cut him off as she did. He had blamed himself for a lot of things and Sofia pushing him away was one of them.

" _Buenos dias_ ," her mom sang, making Sofia quickly turn into a sobbing mess.

Bucky got out of the hospital bed, making way for her parents. He watched as they hugged her, kissed her and told her they loved her. Bucky wanted to capture the moment and bottle it up for Sofia to have forever. 

Peggy and Natasha walked into the room a couple of minutes later with flowers and balloons galore. Sofia gasped at the sight of the gifts as they tried to set them down wherever they could. Bucky was sure Natasha would've flung herself onto Sofia but since she was still in a delicate state, she tamed herself and sat at the foot of the bed. Peggy came and sat next to Sofia, hugging her tight and whispering in her ear that she loved her a lot.

"Does everyone know?" Sofia asked after a while of talking with everyone in the room.

"Do they," Natasha replied, eyes widening. "Pictures were being sold for so much money the minute after everything happened."

"What's going to happen to..."

"They caught him," Peggy informed her. "The paparazzi actually did good for once and tackled him before he got away. He has a hearing on Friday; it's not looking too good for him. Remember when they tried to attack Maria Hill a couple of months ago?"

Sofia nodded and Peggy continued. "Turns out he was the one who tried to hurt her."

Sofia bit down on her lip, trying to wrap her head around everything. She looked up from her lap and found Bucky staring at her with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked so worried. She knew he blamed himself but he didn't have to. She was going to have to make him believe that in one way or another.

They all talked amongst each other, Natasha reading Sofia all the emails, tweets, Instagram posts, etc. from fans and colleagues. Sofia smiled and cried at the sweet words from everyone. Before they knew it, the sun was starting to go down. Maria promised her daughter that she would be back tomorrow along with her dad; she'd ask the doctor if she could bring her homecooked food since she knew how much it would make Sofia feel better.

Natasha and Peggy left an hour after them. Mostly because Sofia begged for her favorite blanket from home earning some teasing from Natasha and a laugh from Bucky who had called it the day he walked into the room. 

After they were left alone, Bucky still stood in the corner of the room; it was almost as if he was afraid of getting close to Sofia. She swallowed hard and chuckled. 

"What? Are you going to stand in the corner of the room all night like Edward Cullen?"

Bucky scoffed offendedly. "No."

"Then come over here. I don't bite," she grinned. "Unless you like that sort of thing."

Even in the dark, she could see Bucky's ears and cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked over to her bed and took a seat next to her. 

"What's wrong?" She asked softly. "And don't say 'nothing' because it's obviously something. You haven't said a word since everyone got here. Did I do something wrong again?"

Bucky's eyes widened, his head shaking furiously. "No! Sofia, you've done nothing wrong. God, even when we kissed the first time it wasn't... wrong, per se." He pinched the bridge of his nose for a second as he tried to gather his thoughts. 

"Then what?"

"I'm just... scared."

"Of?"

"Losing you."

"You're not going to," Sofia replied matter-of-factly. 

Bucky snorted, "Unless you decide to take a bullet for me again."

"Oh, please!" She swatted his arm. "You would have rather been in my shoes?"

"A million times," Bucky stated softly, blinking slowly and taking his bottom lip in between his teeth.

Sofia furrowed her brows, reaching out to grab his hands. "Bucky... don't... don't say that. No one deserves to be in my shoes, period."

"I still don't understand why you did it."

Sofia looked into his eyes and wondered what it would've been like if she never got to get lost in them ever again. "Because I love you, Bucky." 

He gasped softly, not expecting her to admit her love for him. Did he say it back too? 

"You don't have to say it. I know you love me too."

"That's very narcissistic." Bucky teased and Sofia slapped his arm again. "Ow!"

"No!" Sofia exclaimed. "I mean, I heard you say it. Well, it was in my dream so maybe you didn't say-"

Bucky interrupted her. "No; I said it. I love you, Sofia. I didn't know how much I did until that night when you got..." he trailed off. "And it just made me realize that I need to stop pushing you away. Truth is, it's kind of scary to let yourself fall."

Sofia intertwined her fingers with his, holding onto him tight. "But I'm right here. I'm going to catch you."

Bucky looked over at her and for once decided that there was nothing to be afraid of. Sofia made it out alive and his heart couldn't bear to think of letting her go again as he did before. He couldn't do that to her or himself for that matter. It was time. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore. 

Sofia looked up at him with waiting eyes mixed with a dash of hope. She wanted him more than he could imagine. 

"I love you, Sofia." He finally whispered, his head leaning down to rest his forehead on hers.

Her eyes fluttered shut, a dreamy sigh escaping her lips. They could both hear the heart monitor beeping rapidly making them both chuckle.

"There goes trying to hide the way you make me feel," Sofia murmured against his soft lips. 

"I love you," Bucky repeated, his heart bursting entirely. This is what happiness felt like. He would never grow old of saying those three words and Sofia would never tire of hearing them; they were music to her ears.

"I love you, too." She cracked a grin before capturing his lips on her own and placing her hand on the nape of his neck. Bucky cupped her face with both hands, kissing her back with so much passion that Sofia had to pull back to get a breath of air. 

"You know, I don't usually kiss before first dates." She winked at him and he blushed. Sofia decided that was her favorite trait of his. 

"Okay." He nodded. "How about when you get out of here and you're feeling better I take you out on a date."

Sofia giggled, "What? You don't want to take me on a date downstairs to the cafe?" 

"If that's what you want. They don't have steak or pasta; only sandwiches and salads."  

Sofia hummed, "I'll pass then. Where are you going to take me?" 

"Wherever you'd like to go."

"Would you mind if I said I wanted to go to In 'N Out for our first official date?"

Bucky laughed, "That sounds perfect."


	16. Whole

"Thanks, Doctor Banner." Sofia smiled at the man with a small wave.

Bucky looked up from his hands in his lap, locking eyes with Sofia. He stood up with a groan, Sofia hearing him as she walked over and raised her brows.

"You okay there old man Barnes?"

"Ha-ha," he deadpanned. "So funny. You're getting there, too, ya know?"

Sofia held up her index finger high up in the air. "That is a lie!"

They walked out of the outpatient center and into the warm Los Angeles sun. Bucky reached out and grabbed Sofia's hand, intertwining his long fingers with hers. Sofia sighed contently next to him.

It had been 6 months since the incident and both Bucky and Sofia had gone through a lot since then. Soon after Sofia went back home she thought she was having complications from the surgery but it turned out that she had severe anxiety that she only made worse by pushing away the symptoms on top of PTSD from the event. 

Bucky was going through the same thing as well. He would wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat and tears in his eyes as he relived the moment over and over again. It came to a point where he was afraid to even close his eyes.

It wasn't until one day when Peggy was over that she suggested they get help. Sofia looked at Bucky but he was already looking at her waiting for her to nod her head. He'd go to the ends of the Earth for her. 

Once they began to get help, things got a little easier. Bucky began to sleep through the night and Sofia kept her attacks in check, usually being able to catch one before it got too bad.

But as they started to get better they grew closer and closer. Before they both knew it, they were waking up in each other's arms and loving each other as they had never loved anyone in their life before.

Sofia slipped her sunglasses off her head and perched them on the bridge of her nose to cover the sun from her eyes. Bucky held a hand up to cover the rays, taking in a deep breath as well.

Sofia had also decided to take a break from Hollywood. Everyone whispered about it being an early retirement but they didn't know that Sofia was going to come back to the business and take over everything once more.

For the time being, she lived like a normal person—sort of. Every once in a while she was stopped or followed my paparazzi but most of the time she was able to relax and lay low. Sofia didn't exactly like it but it would do for the moment.

"Hungry?"

"Nah." Sofia scrunched up her face. "But coffee sounds great."

"Then we'll go and get coffee."

They got into Sofia's car and drove to her favorite hole in the wall cafe the employees smiling at the sight of her walking through the door. They knew her well enough to know her order by heart and ever since the accident they all worried about her but there was no way for them to have contact with her. And the rumors that the accident had been worse than it actually was made them worry even more.

"How are you holding up?" The manager of the shop came out from the back to greet her. "You look good!"

Sofia smiled at the woman, placing some cash in the tip jar. "Thank you, Mary. I've been doing pretty well."

"And I see you have a new boy toy." She winked at Sofia making her blush.

"Hi," Bucky nodded, quickly sticking out his hand and shaking Mary's own. "I'm Bucky."

After a bit of banter with the staff, they got their coffees and headed out. Since Sofia was driving she thought of taking Bucky to her favorite place in Los Angeles—The Griffith Observatory. It had almost been a year since Bucky relocated to LA but he still hadn't visited the famous location.

He asked Sofia multiple times where she was taking him as she drove up the side of the winding mountains. She laughed in her seat and told him to be patient, something Bucky knew much about but for some reason, he had none when with Sofia.

Luckily, she found a parking spot on the side of the hill, knowing that if she drove past it, she probably wouldn't find another one. After perfectly parking in between two cars, she hopped out and Bucky followed. She held out her hand for him to take, quickly intertwining fingers and walking up the semi-steep hill leading to the observatory.

Once in sight, Bucky gasped softly; It was mesmerizing. Kids ran around with their parents calling after them while some people took pictures with the Hollywood sign behind them. Sofia pulled Bucky inside the building and stopping right at the pendulum, watching it sway effortlessly. 

The pair took their time looking around and even watching a show at the planetarium. At the end of their tour inside the observatory, Bucky frowned but Sofia had one more place to take him. She dragged him out to the terrace where the view of Los Angeles took over.

"Want to know why this is my favorite place?" Sofia asked, leaning against the terrace wall. Bucky copied her and hummed, ready to listen. "It's because of time kind of stops. I'm so far away from the city and my job and every little materialistic thing I could possibly think of; it's gone. It doesn't follow me here. LA is a place of dreams sure, but it also comes with nightmares."

Bucky licked his lips, placing his chin in the palm of his hand and looked over at Sofia. She was staring straight ahead, a dreamy look in her eyes. "So I wanted to share my safe haven with you. It's kind of like showing you another piece of me in a way. When I feel like I'm feeling down I know I can come here and that everything will sort of just fade away even if for just a moment."

Sofia took in a deep breath through her nose and let it out of her mouth slowly. Bucky was already taking up such a big part of her life and heart that it kind of felt overwhelming in the best way possible.

"I love you," Bucky blurted, not knowing what else to say.

Sofia looked over at Bucky and grinned. "I love you, too."

"Thank you," he cleared his throat, shifting his body closer to Sofia's and turning slightly so he could be facing her. He took her wrist in his hand and found her fingers, intertwining the tips of his fingers with hers. "Thank you for making me happy. Even after all the shit I put you through."

"You? Are you sure? Last time I checked,  _I_  was the one who put you through hell. I have press reports, pictures and a scar to prove it."

He leaned his forehead against Sofia's closing his eyes and sighing softly. "I don't like thinking about that day."

"I'm sorry," Sofia apologized, her voice barely a whisper. 

They stayed silent for a bit, Sofia's hands coming around to wrap around Buck's waist and holding him close. They were missing puzzle pieces at most. They fit perfectly even with their rough edges.

"You know," Sofia started. "I'm kind of glad Coulson was shot."

Bucky pulled back, a confused look strewn across his face. "Why would you..."

"No!" Sofia laughed, "Not like... I don't know; I wouldn't have ever met you if that hadn't happened. Life would have been so much different."

"Life works in funny ways."

"Most of the time."

"Is it weird that I can't picture my life without you now?" He swayed them softly.

Sofia shook her head. "Nope."

"Good."

Sofia leaned up slightly on her tippy toes to catch his bottom lip between her own, their eyes fluttering shut in unison. Bucky had a feeling he would never stop feeling butterflies in his stomach and Sofia believed she'd never stop seeing fireworks every time they kissed.

True happiness truly consumed them whole. There was no more running or hiding; their love was brighter than who they were in the dark.

 


End file.
